Number Ei8ht
by Sen Sorame
Summary: Who was the member Shizuku replaced? Who was the member Silva killed? (OC story, 100% NOT Mary-Sue, don't forget to review.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, it's been a long time since I've been active. So now I'm back! This is a new story on an entirely different topic - Hunter X Hunter. And gosh, Genei Ryodan is so damn awesome .But then I thought: _hey, even the number four member Hisoka killed got a part to be in the Phantom Rouge movie. If #4 can get a part, why can't #8? The one Silva killed and Shizuku replaced?_ I'm writing the replaced member as an OC. And since it's a long time since I've last wrote, it'll be kinda crappy from the start (srry); but it'll get better later! I swear! (OwO;)**

**Enjoy and review!**

* * *

Rivelle was a small town that rained all year long. Everything was dark and gloomy there, but every member of the city was used to it. Being gloomy as it is, nearly all citizens had grown somehow apathetic; probably due to the boring, unchanging weather. Not much truly cared for one another; all they cared about was their benefits, salaries, and goods.

There were things that happened on the surface, yet there were also things that happened in the underground. On the surface, everything ran nice and smoothly, but under the covers of the hypocrite, nearly all the companies that ran in this town had some sort of wicked relationship with the Mafia.

It was a town of hypocrites and liars.

The hypocrites smiled and take your hand, and after climbing to the top of the tower, they will happily push you off the top floor. The liars can take your money without you noticing it, and then they will suddenly disappear out of your life. The next time you check your bank account you can be sure to see a few zeros missing in your deposit.

It was a nice town in the eyes of the world government, always running smoothly and a little _too_ rainy. Only the people that lived inside it new its true colors. It was pure black.

Despite the fact that nearly everyone there wore a mask of a hypocrite; there were people that didn't bother wearing a mask. Though it was a very few. They lived in the darkest part of the society in secret.

There were drug dealers, thieves, killers, and assassins. They didn't bother hiding their true, bloodthirsty nature; they were part of the dark society. The difference between killers and assassins was that killers just killed for fun, and assassins killed for a reason. Namely money; just give them a wad of cash, and the assassins would nail anyone for you.

_Anyone_.

* * *

A woman of young age pushed open the office door and pulled down her trench coat collar, which was concealing her face. "Hello," She said dryly. "Long time no see."

She was in her late teens or early twenties, but with a clean, straight face and sharp features. But do not let her young appearance fool you; her actions were not considered normal among her age group. But it was her _job_.

The man sitting in front of the desk immediately stood up and gestured for his visitor to sit down. "Ahh, Ms. Mizutsuki, I've been waiting for you."

The woman named Mizutsuki looked down at the piles of papers scattered around the office. "I doubt that, you barely remember that we're having our meeting today. If you remembered, you'd at least clean up. As rotten as you are, I suppose that you still hold manners when a female is coming to visit."

"…Yes, you're right. My apologies."

"Whatever," She took off her coat and threw it over the guest couch. "Tell me, what's the job this time?"

"Ahh, this man." He pulled a paper envelope out of one of his desk drawers, handing it to her.

Mizutsuki pulled out the picture and stared at the man who was her assassinating target. He somehow resembled a hybrid between a pig and a rat. He wasn't someone you'd want sitting across from you while eating lunch or a romantic dinner. "Who is this?"

"Read the files."

She slammed the envelope onto the glass drawer and caused her customer to jump. "Well I don't suppose that the romantic history between you guys is written on these papers." Her tone was permanently fixed as a monotone.

The man blinked. "Oh…" His face was ashen and grim, looking unwilling to say the story.

Mizutsuki sighed and reached into her pocket, fumbling around for a cigarette. She found the small box and placed one between her lips; she lighted the cigarette and took a deep smoke. "If I don't get the story, I'm not working. You can find someone else."

He looked up frantically. "But you're the best assassin!"

"Yes, I'm the best, but no story, no working. Goodbye." She picked up her coat and started to walk towards the door. "Pleasure having business with you." She muttered.

"No! Wait!" He exclaimed. "Fine! I'll tell!"

Mizutsuki paused in walking out of the door. "Wise choice," She nodded, closing the door and walking back in. "I'll guarantee that this man would be dead tomorrow this time."

"…Haha…" He gulped.

* * *

Walking down the rainy streets towards the outskirts of the town was two men; one tall and one short. The tall one had no eyebrows and the short one was wearing all black, with only his pale skin as a contradiction.

"Hey Feitan," The tall one grunted. "What do you think of our mission this time?"

The short one named Feitan shrugged and said in an icy tone. "It'll be as easy as it seems, Phinks. This is a race between us and the others. To see who will be back at the base quickest with their assigned targets."

"Huh, shouldn't we run then?" Phinks raised an eyebrow (or at least he tried to; considering the fact that he do not have them).

Feitan shook his head. "Nah… I don't feel like it. This mission is boring already; I don't wanna waste energy on it. This race Shalnark suggested is stupid anyways…"

"I think that the reason he suggested the race was just to get Nobunaga's drunken ass moving. The party the others threw last night was pretty damn crazy, they destroyed thirteen buildings."

"All the same, I could care less. Although they should have invited us…"

Phinks smirked at his so-called partner in crime. Feitan's icy personality was nice for a partner in crime; both of them (or all of the members of the Genei Ryodan) had nearly no conscience. And they didn't give mercy when it comes to killing or stealing.

"Anyways, this sure is a gloomy town." Phinks continued on nonchalantly. He didn't really care; he just wanted a topic to talk about on their long and boring journey towards their destination.

"Rivelle is _known_ for being gloomy." Feitan replied. "This is also known as the lair of the hypocrites. Every member of this town has a double face."

"How do you know?"

Feitan shot him a blank stare, his expression saying 'duh'. "If you seriously don't know why I know this, or you didn't know about this fact before I told you, I'd strongly recommend you to go see the brain doctor. Either your head is in danger or you're not Phinks."

Phinks snorted. "Of course I knew, I was just testing you. Nearly everyone here has some connection with the Mafia, even newborn babies. We're on the same side of the fence with these people. Only that they hide their true nature in front of others."

Feitan nodded. "Yeah." The two of them reached the end of the town and the rain shelter of the stores and houses. Feitan pulled out his umbrella with the concealed sword and the skull design on top. He didn't bother to share with Phinks and Phinks didn't ask him to share either.

Their target was a painting called _The_ _Pungency_; it was painted by a painter who had died long ago, and it was his last work. Nearly eighty years after said painter had died, his work finally started to become noticed. Collectors are now paying high prices for his works. The painter had drawn about fifty artworks in total, not including rough sketches or projects he considered failures. Nearly all of the fifty artworks had been found, but only _The Pungency_ was still yet to be recovered. Their leader had gotten his hands on a clue that this painting now resides within the house of Aaron Phillips. One of the wealthy leaders of the hypocrite town; and he was also rumored to be an important member of the Mafia community.

The two of them heard footsteps behind them and subconsciously raised their guard. It couldn't be that someone was stalking them, right? But if the person was, this was definitely the worst stalking experiment in the history of the world. Not only did this person didn't bother to hide their nen, and that the footsteps were louder than an elephant's due to the hard rain and muddy ground. _Splish splosh splash splosh_.

Soon after five minutes, the person decided to hurry pass them. It was a woman; they hadn't been able to tell whether the footsteps belonged to a male or female due to the loud noise of the rain. The woman only shot them a feverish glance as she hurried pass them. She was wearing a trench coat.

When she disappeared out of sight, Phinks whistled. "She's hot."

Feitan raised an eyebrow; at his partner's taste in woman and why the heck did he decide to bring up the subject to someone who's as uninterested in woman as him. "Why? You could barely see her face."

"She has a good body, the trench coat proves it."

"If you want women with a good looking body, just go look at Pakunoda." Feitan regarded dryly. He was never interested in woman unless one of his torture victims was female.

"She's too tall." Phinks answered. "Besides, it's damn obvious that she's into leader."

Feitan was resisting his urge to facepalm. He had known that Pakunoda beared a special feeling for Chrollo since they were kids, but speaking it straight out for the whole wide world to listen was something that the six original members would never do; or four to be exact, not counting Pakunoda and Chrollo themselves.

"Fantastic," He muttered. "Now we're talking behind other member's backs."

"C'mon Fei, don't be such a killjoy. You know that I hate boring things like walking in pouring rain towards a to-be victim's house. I need something to distract me."

"Then you can think of how you want to kill the guards and servants when we reach the place." He said icily. "I've seen you snapping necks too many times it's boring. Try another method this time."

"The same goes for you; slicing off heads is _way_ too old fashioned now. Try a new way of killing your opponents this time."

Feitan glared. If looks could kill…

Phinks smirked. "Yeah, yeah, I'll shut up…"

* * *

Mizutsuki glanced back at the path which she had just taken, her pace still quick. Originally, she had quickened her pace just to pass the two people walking in the middle of the road not knowing to share. But as soon as she had passed them, she sensed something.

It was no nen ability, it was instinct. Those two guys were nothing near normal, far from it to be honest. Starting from having no eyebrows and being terribly short, to having their auras concealed. Their nen aura was wrapped around their body like any other normal human alright, but she could somehow feel that underneath the normal aura, there was something icy and cold and they were hiding it.

"Assassins too…?" she questioned out loud. She was one of the top notch assassins in the whole assassin community; well known among the Mafia and government. She had felt similar auras from other good assassins too, but never this strong. If they didn't hide the icy killing auras, most people would probably just stand there paralyzed and wait to be killed like a pig in the meat factory.

_If I was to pick a fight with them, I wonder who'd win._ She thought; she couldn't help getting mildly curious at the thought.

She arrived at the mansion of her pig-and-rat-hybrid target, Aaron Phillips. She stopped in front of the metal gates and looked around for a doorbell. What she found instead was a small room built on the side of the wall, for security guards to guard the front door apparently.

"Excuse me, mister," Mizutsuki knocked on the glass window and the snoozing guard mumbled a few words. She rolled my eyes; to hire a guard that would snooze during work time. With a simple gesture of waving her hand she had killed the guy. The assassin walked back to the gate and gathered the nen in her palms. After she had transmuted the substance of what she wanted, she placed it onto the lock of the big door.

She wasn't known among others for clean, accurate kills. She was known for having the habit to eliminate all witnesses within range. If she killed a man in a hotel, apart from the target himself, _everyone_ in the hotel would die. That was her weird habit; but no one ever question it – it was fine as long as she had killed her assigned target.

Within a second, the doors swung open with a _clang_ and welcomed her in.

* * *

Feitan and Phinks reached the same mansion after the woman roughly twenty minutes later. They stopped abruptly in front of the metal door, swinging freely.

"That's strange," Phinks said. "I'm sure that the guy must have had at least _one_ notice that the Genei Ryodan has targeted his treasured painting. I didn't expect that he'd welcome us in like this." Despite his words, he was already crawling over the place along with Feitan, searching for clues of the unnatural welcoming.

Feitan didn't even bother to reply. He motioned for Phinks towards the small office. "Someone was here before us." He said darkly.

Phinks took a look at the victim's face. "The heck…"

The face of the corpse was completely melted to the point it was unrecognizable. The muscles and nerves were completely melted and the bones showed. But only the face was damaged, the other parts of the corpse was completely unharmed.

"Someone was here before us." Feitan said. "And I can only guess one."

"That woman…" Phinks hissed.

Feitan nodded. "She was the only one that passed us on the way here; there are no other roads branching from this one. Unless the culprit was in the mansion from the start. But then it wouldn't explain that why the door would be open and why the guard would be disfigured."

Phinks narrowed his eyes. "If she's here for the painting as well, we'd be in big trouble. We're very late; maybe she's already gone with the damn painting."

They walked into the mansion and were shocked to see that faceless corpses lied everywhere. And were somewhat creeped out too, despite being killers who twisted necks and sliced off heads. Their opponent was a woman who was able to singlehandedly kill off the whole mansion of guards and servants by melting off their faces. They were somehow curious at why was the woman in the trench coat able to do this. When she passed them they did not feel anything unnatural.

"Godammit…" Phinks muttered. "Does that bitch have no heart? She killed every damn living human in this place."

"It doesn't matter," Feitan answered. "Actually, it saved us trouble, even though it does piss me off a little. Our target is the painting, as long as she did not take the painting, all is fine."

"Easy for you to say, who would be here if they don't want the goddamned painting?"

"We find the painting, we take it. If we meet her, we kill her. Everything is about the painting; we don't want trouble alright?"

"Dude, if we ever meet that bitch in this mansion, I'm going to fight her."

As much as they don't want to admit, they wanted to test out their skills against their opponent more than they wanted the painting. Subconsciously, they had performed Zetsu to hide their auras from their opponent before them.

"Whatever…" Feitan muttered.

* * *

On the other hand, Mizutsuki Shimo had already sensed the presence of two other beings entering the mansion full of corpses. She doubted that anyone in their right minds would stay here for a second longer after seeing the bloody sight. And as the same as Phinks and Feitan, she had a clear guess of who the intruders were. She also raised her guard by performing Zetsu.

"Knew it…" she muttered under her breath. "Those two are no normal people…"

She had been inside the building for at least thirty minutes now and had killed all the servants and guards inside. However, she had no idea where to look for her target Aaron Phillips. Even after performing En with the diameter of ten meters she had no luck. But she was sure that the man had not yet escaped the mansion.

And now it was very troublesome for her; she had to look for her assassinating target without getting caught by the two strangers with the cold auras. She was being cautious, not scared; just to clarify. She did not want trouble either.

_Find Aaron and kill him, if I find those two guys instead, I'll run. _She thought_. Those two are people I cannot handle…_

She kicked away a disfigured corpse and walked down the stairs. _Where the heck is that swine? _She thought sourly._ If he continues to hide any longer I'd miss the afternoon drama…Today's the final episode…_

Slowly she let her aura gather on her palms, transmuting them into her invisible weapon.

She walked into the living room and started to knock on the walls, searching for a secret room or a trapdoor. _Knock, knock, knock, knock…_ She circled around the room, the embers in the fireplace were still warm, and so it would be impossible for a trapdoor inside the fireplace. Even if there was, she doubted that someone would be willing to step over fire; though if they did, there's be some sign of the embers being messed up or spilled out.

"Anyways, this sure is a big house…" She muttered. "Thirty-two rooms, two kitchens, eight bathrooms and seven bedrooms…" Aaron Phillips was indeed an important member of the Mafia. Someone who definitely grew up in Rivelle the Town of Liars and Hypocrites. His fortune was probably all conned or blackmailed from people.

Mizutsuki knelt down and lifted the expensive Persian carpet with the elaborate design. To her ultimate surprise, right in the middle of the hard Burmese teak floor was a small square lined by silver with a handle; a trapdoor.

"Well that's convenient." She mused and pulled up the door. It didn't budge; with a heavy sigh she placed her hand onto the lock.

With a loud snap the lock was open; excited she pulled up the door. She had expected to see a hidden basement, or at least a laser beam to shoot through her head, but it was neither of those. She was completely disappointed; there was no assassinating target, much less a rat. The hidden space was incredibly shallow, and what sat inside it was a white bag and inside it was a painting. She pulled it out and examined it carefully. The painting itself looked plain; it was of a very fucked up looking king eating peppers and onions.

But for it to be kept in such a protected space there must be some sort of value. _Perhaps I can sell it for a good price on the black market…_With the thought in mind; she stuffed it back into the bag and swung it over her shoulder.

* * *

Feitan and Phinks walked to the back of the mansion where the garage was located. Inside, the expensive cars were unharmed, but the servants were all dead as well. Feitan looked into the glass window. "This is a pretty good car."

"Steal it than," Phinks suggested. "Everyone in the house is dead anyway, and I don't want to walk in the rain again…" He glared pointedly at Feitan, who did not share his umbrella.

Feitan snorted and continued to admire the car. He paused when he arrived at the trunk. "There's someone in here." He said darkly.

"Yeah, I noticed." Phinks was still admiring the car. "But judging from the nervousness this guy is radiating, it's probably not the girl."

"It would not hurt to check." Feitan answered; with a simple lift of his hand he forcefully opened the trunk. Inside the trunk was a shivering man who looked about to piss his pants. He had the fat body of a pig and the sharp features and large front teeth like a rat.

"D-Don't hurt meh…" He stammered. "If you want money I'll give you it, just don't hurt me…!"

Phinks defied gravity by holding up the wealthy man by the collar; the man hung in midair, kicking and struggling. Phinks seemed unfazed. "We're not interested in money," He said nonchalantly. "But tell us; where is _The Pungency_?"

"I-It's under the living room floor." The man stammered. "Please, don't hurt me…! I'll give you anything you want! Just don't...!"

"You're pathetic for a member of the Mafia." Said Feitan darkly. "Even dogs are better than you…"

The next second, the dirty red liquid splattered across the walls and floor like a work of art. The two members of Genei Ryodan turned and walked back to the main house, still unaware that their target painting had already been taken by the woman. And the woman didn't know that her assassinating target had also been killed by the two Ryodan members.

* * *

**The second chapter will get better; though personally I think that chapter 6, 7, and 8 is the best. C'mon, show me some support; it's simple, just move your fingers and the mouse, then type in a review or simply click _favorite_ or _follow_. Easy enough, eh?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A short chapter I'm so sorry. ****And yes, they finally meet and the conflict breaks out. I have quite a lot of conflicts I wanna write in mind; not to mention plot twists.**

**I'll stop my babbling here and enjoy!**

* * *

Mizutsuki swung the white bag over her shoulder; the painting was heavy with its expensive gold frame. But it didn't bother her the least. It wasn't like that it was permanently glued to her back right? She can abandon it anytime and run for her life if needed to.

She hoped dearly that times like that would never come. Never once in her life had she ever ran away from opponents. Nor had she failed in her assassinating job. Personally, she wouldn't call it assassinating anymore. Normally her clients only came to find her if they wanted the whole family of their hated person eliminated. Because they can always count on her for doing that. And they did not need to pay any more money.

Most assassins charged payment for each victim. But Mizutsuki was different; she would kill the target and everyone else beside him; and she would not charge more. It was because of this reason why she was so popular.

Now, why would she do that? She did not know either. Killing had become part of her life now; it satisfied her bloodlust. It just felt right to kill. Mizutsuki knew that her thinking was fucked up, but then again, she didn't know why either.

She didn't know a lot of things. Why she liked killing so much or how she had gotten into the sport of killing. But out of all the things she didn't know, one bothered her the most…

_The drama's almost over… _She thought sadly. _Seems like I'll have to watch it on the net…_

Arriving at the back door she turned the brass doorknob. The rain outside had reduced just by a little. As soon as she stepped a foot outside she paused at the sight.

Feitan and Phinks were walking up the marble steps, planning to go back indoors and take the painting from the learned spot. But when they reached the top step of the stairs, the door opened and out stepped the woman that had supposedly murdered the whole household.

The two of them stopped in their tracks as well; the three of them spent a few seconds gawking at each other, not sure of what to say.

Mizutsuki was the first to snap back to reality; she slammed the door shut and bolted back into the house. Phinks and Feitan gasped and stormed after her. "Who are you and what's that on your back?" Phinks exclaimed.

She didn't reply. _Who would be stupid enough to answer you?_ She answered in her head instead.

Feitan narrows his eyes. "For someone to keep up with our pace … she isn't just a nobody after all."

"I'll take a shortcut to the front and I'll meet you there; we'll sandwich her."

"Okay."

With a nod Phinks disappeared to the branching hallway; Feitan pulled out his umbrella. He had a feeling that if they were to fight; it'd be an ugly one. "Tsk…" He scowled. The white bag slung over her shoulder gave the shape of a rectangle; and the faint, carved outlines seen through the bag indicated that there was a frame inside.

"Did you take the painting?" He asked; his speed did not slow down and neither did Mizutsuki's. But there was an obvious change in her expression. "Painting?" She echoed with a glance back at him.

"Oh so you can talk…" Feitan said icily; his expression was something the opposite of _friendly_. Seeing that expression Mizutsuki's face became pale and she quickened her pace in running.

"Hey where are you going sweetie?" Phinks suddenly appeared in front of the two of them; the carpet was singed from his sudden stopping and his shoes smoked slightly.

Mizutsuki jumped and skidded to a stop as well, followed by Feitan. "What do you want?" She asked shakily.

"Hey, hey, no need to be so scared." Phinks smirked. "You're able to murder all the people inside this house; why would you be scared of us?"

She looked from Phinks to Feitan and Feitan to Phinks. "You guys are nothing good." She said.

"What told you that?"

"Instinct."

"…I think that she may get along well with Machi."

"Save the chit chat for later Phinks." Feitan said. "After seeing her bloody masterpiece, I have some things I wanna ask her…" His eyes shone in sadistic amusement – he had found his new torture toy. "But first things first; what is in that bag you're holding?"

"A painting of a fucked up guy eating peppers." She answered curtly.

The two Ryodan members exchanged a glance. It was the exact matching description they had received of their target painting. "Give it to us, we need it." Phinks held out his hand.

Mizutsuki glared; this was perhaps the first time in her life she had ever felt her life endangered. "No, who do you think I am? An idiot?" She snorted. "If I give you this painting; you guys will kill me instantly. This painting is the only reason you two haven't attacked, because you're afraid that you might damage it during a fight."

She was right, and they realized that she was able to kill the whole household with a reason.

"What's to worry? You can finish off a few hundred people as easily as slicing warm butter. Surely the two of us won't be big of harm right?"

"You guys aren't normal people; that far I can tell. And now it's my turn to ask questions."

Feitan's expression darkened. "Don't get too cocky, little bitch." He said. "We're the one saying the consequences, not you."

Mizutsuki glared and pulled the painting out of the white duffel bag. "It seems like you guys are in desperate need of this painting? I don't need it really, but now my life depends on it. If you don't listen to me, I'll destroy it this second and you'll never get it. You may kill me later, but the painting cannot be saved."

"Go ahead; that is a nen-protected object; since the artist is a nen user as well. It won't be destroyed that easily. Now shut your mouth and listen…"

"_No_," She glared. "_You_ listen; unfortunately I'm a nen user as well. And I'm pretty darn good at it."

Phinks was somewhat amused at the debate between the girl and Feitan. "What can you do? Melt off faces?"

"Oh I can do much more than that," She grinned mischievously. "Now answer; where is the man Aaron Phillips?"

"Who the heck is that?"

"My assassinating target. I've killed every servant and guard inside the property; but I cannot find him."

"What does he look like?"

Mizutsuki raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you are easier to talk to than shorty over there. Although you have no eyebrows." She had no idea how much danger she was in that second; she had hit the taboo. But both Feitan and Phinks pressed down their anger for the sake of their beloved painting. "The guy that looks like a hybrid of a swine and a rat? Have you seen him?"

Feitan raised an eyebrow. "In fact, yes; he was hiding inside the trunk of his car. We killed him." Both he and Phinks didn't know either how close to death they were in that second. Mizutsuki's jaw popped open.

Phinks frowned. "What?"

"You… killed him…?" She stammered.

"Yes, so what? Give us that damn painting already."

"You… killed him…" Mizutsuki was silent for a few seconds, then her expression grew extremely dark and murderous; the atmosphere turned pressuring and cold. "Never, and I mean never once of my entire life had I let others steal my target from me; whether they meant it or not. But you guys…!"

"Save the babbling, give us the painting." Feitan repeated, his tone also dropping dangerously low. "If you give us the painting now we might spare you still."

Mizutsuki glanced at the painting in her hands, and then slowly put it back into the bag. Phinks frowned. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I would have given you it if we had sorted everything out together; you guys could have told me where my target was and I would have given you the painting. But no; you've stole my target, and now I', going to steal yours too."

In a flash Feitan was behind her with a firm grip on her wrist; twisting it in a painful angle. "Little bitch; don't get so cocky…!"

Mizutsuki shot him a glare and all of a sudden, Feitan's eyes widened and jumped back. Phinks jumped into battle position. "Fei! What did she do?"

"She was not lying about being good at manipulating nen." Feitan examined his burnt hand; which was fine before he had grabbed her wrist. "This is… acid?"

"You can try to kill me, but it won't be that easy." Mizutsuki said icily. "You have a guess of my abilities now, which is an advantage. However, I hold the painting that you guys want desperately. We are so far equally matched."

She snapped her fingers and the two Ryodan members used gyo. What they saw was that her aura resembled a thin mist. As soon as the mist touched the walls, the particles began to melt.

Phinks whistled. "A transmuter of acid?"

"Yep bingo, you walk through this wall I created; you'll melt to the bone." With a smirk she turned away to walk down the hall; not even bothering to look out for gaps of attack. She had complete confidence in her wall of acid mist.

Phinks and Feitan were amused as ever; not to mention thirsty for battle against their new opponent. "Tell danchou we've found an amusing enemy; the painting can wait. I'm sure that danchou would be interested in her as well. We've recognized her face, we'll get Shalnark to look her up. Such abilities, she must be _something_."

"Sure, I agree."

Mizutsuki kicked open the back door; seeing that they hadn't chased her down, she let down her guard completely. She glanced at the painting on her back. _I've recognized their faces, and I know that they've targeted the painting. I'll try to see if I can look them up on internet..._

* * *

**Ho-ho, I'm sorry for not writing more in this chapter. But now they all know that they had swapped targets and the Genei Ryodan had grown an interest on her (Well at least two members do). What will happen next? And yeah, looking at the title of this story, you already know what'd happen. She'd get dragged into the Ryodan one way or another; but how? Read and watch... (=w=)+**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nobunaga snorted when Phinks and Feitan walked back into the hideout with nothing in their hands. "Have you guys failed in retrieving your target? Danchou would be disappointed."

"Shut up Nobunaga," Phinks glared. "We have a good reason why we returned empty handed."

"Well what is it?"

"Wait until all the members are gathered." Feitan said curtly; his expression signaled the end of their conversation. It was dark and murderous.

Machi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Feitan. "Did someone else target the painting too?" She poked, ignoring the murderous aura of Feitan.

Phinks glanced at her. "Yeah, how do you know?"

"Instinct."

"…I was right; you _would_ get along with her."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Machi frowned.

"It means that you resemble that damn bitch who stole our target painting." Feitan snapped. Machi looked offended. "What did you say?" She exclaimed.

"Chill, Machi." Phinks muttered. "That does not mean anything bad. Just that your personalities resemble."

Machi looked about to protest but Shalnark walked over, looking amused. "Feitan, Phinks, why did you not take the painting from her? You know it's a female, so you must have seen her in person. Why did you not kill her and take the painting then?"

"She is a skilled nen user; couldn't be worse than us. We're on the same level and fairly equal matched."

"You have two people and she only has one, why?" Nobunaga frowned.

"Are you an idiot?" Feitan retorted. "She has the painting. If we just randomly broke out a fight, the painting could be damaged. Blood can be splattered onto it, or it could be ripped to shreds."

"Either that or Feitan would burn it to a crisp." Coltopi added, appearing out of the shadows. Everyone glanced at the Ryodan's master forger. Coltopi's one visible blue eye darted around at the circle of people, and then he crossed his arms. "_What_?" He deadpanned.

Nobunaga shook his head. "Nah, you just don't talk much."

Shalnark laughed. "Well? How is she like? What did she do to earn such respect of you guys? Tell me how she looked like and I'll search her up on the Hunter site."

Phinks scratched his chin. "Guess I'll tell the story from the start, Fei?"

"I'll pass." Feitan materialized the book of Trevor Brown out of nowhere and started to read.

Phinks crossed his arms. "Well, when we arrived at our target's house, the first thing we noticed was that every member of the household had been killed; _freshly_ killed. Couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. However, the culprit's way of killing them was unnatural. She melted off their faces and they died of the pain."

"Was that her nen ability?" Machi asked. "Melting off faces? Doesn't seem anything big to me."

"She's a transmuter of acid. She changes her aura to a corrosive mist and manipulates it. Like, she can gather the mist only on her palm to melt off things she touch; or make it wide range and shape it into something like a wall to stop others from chasing her. And now I think of it; you two are so similar it creeps me out; personality and nen-wise. You're both transmuters and rely on instincts."

If looks could kill…

Shalnark cleared his throat. "And then?"

"She seemed to be an assassin of some sorts, and her target was Aaron Phillips, the owner of the mansion and our target painting. But instead, _she_ found _our_ target painting and _we_ killed _her_ assassinating target."

Coltopi and Nobunaga nodded together slowly. "I see why she's so pissed now; I wouldn't be too happy either if someone killed my own target." Nobunaga mused. Coltopi sighed. "Whatever; all that matters is the painting."

"If we want the painting, we would have to fight her. And she's probably looking out for us as well. We should be prepared; she's not an easy opponent from what I observed."

"It's rare that you have something smart to say Phinks." Nobunaga snorted. "Much less compliment someone." Phinks ignored him; though a vein clearly bulged on his forehead. Shalnark tilted his head and glanced at Machi. "Machi, if you were her, what would you do next?"

The pink haired girl frowned. "What are you talking about?" She questioned.

"Just figured that if you two are so much alike in nen and instinct relying-wise, you might think alike as well. According to Phinks' description anyways…"

Everyone's gaze landed on the girl, even the other members who weren't paying attention before or people who just walked in. Machi sighed. "Well, since that I've recognized Phinks and Feitan's faces, and I know that they are people who target art pieces and kill people, I would look them up under the category of bandits and killers or even members of the opposing Mafia community. It wouldn't be hard if you can narrow down your search. Our faces aren't all so unfamiliar in the dark society anyways…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Came a deep voice of a woman which was soaked in sexiness. Pakunoda walked over in her elegant fashion and examined each of them carefully. "A woman that stole our target painting?"

"Pakunoda, if you were listening, you'd understand what we're trying to say." Phinks said dully.

Pakunoda reached out a hand and touched Feitan on the shoulder; he looked up at her but she was already done. Her revolver appeared in her hand and six bullets appeared between her fingers. "No one can get what you're trying to say this way; at least not clear enough."

With that said, she shot the memory bullets into the heads of the other members. The ones who were originally in the circle; Shalnark, Nobunaga, Coltopi, and Machi. The two extras were given to Uvogin; whom was taking a nap by that point. And Bonolenov. She then took Phink's memory as well and gave them to Franklin and Omokage.

Chrollo, the leader of the gang of thieves, understood the situation instantly. The girl Mizutsuki was not a threat to them, considering that they outnumbered her. But the painting she held was too far important. And she will probably do everything she can to prevent them from taking it. Destroy it or else. They had pissed her off and you may never know what a woman would do when she's at her extremes.

"I command now, for all of you to track down the painting and retrieve it at all costs. Eliminate anyone who gets in the way." Chrollo was silent for a few seconds. "However…" He started slowly. "I'm rather interested in this girl… Bring her back; I have things to ask her."

"Danchou! You aren't thinking that you want her inside the Ryodan right?" Uvogin blurted out. Most of the members of the Ryodan looked surprised, few looked like they opposed the idea and some looked like they barely cared at all.

Chrollo didn't answer; instead he pulled out a book and started to read.

Shalnark turned to the others. "Well then," He said cheerfully. "Let's get started on our mission; we will work in pairs and search thoroughly over the town of Rivelle. I'll go look her up on the Hunter site. Once we find her; we must ask her immediately where she kept the painting. _The Pungency_ is our priority."

The members all nodded mutely.

* * *

Mizutsuki leaned back on the beige couch of her small apartment. A small silver laptop sat in front of her and beside it was a steaming cup of hot tea. She had multiple windows open; half of them were online auction pages and the other half were criminal files and names.

Lighting a cigarette she sighed. "No luck in the class D, C, B criminals…" She muttered. This is the worst situation possible; the two of them are class A criminals.

Class A criminals weren't class A for nothing. Either they were really bloodthirsty heartless bastards mass murderers; or they were nen users that used their abilities on things not good.

But then again; if she wasn't under the protection of the Mafia assassin community, she'd be part of the circle too.

With a heavy sigh she leaned forwards again and put her hand onto the mouse. "A…B…C… Chrollo? What kind of fucked up name is that?" She snorted at the ridiculous name that randomly appeared into her eyes. With the help of the Mafia information webs and economic support, reading through the most secret criminal files was as easy as slicing through warm butter. "D…E…F…_F_?"

She found staring into the picture of the short man earlier that day in the morning. It was night time already and eight hours had passed; however, the face of the man named Feitan was deeply branded into her brain. She had almost died by the hands of him today.

Immediately she clicked into his profile.

_Age 28, Height 150 ~ 156 cm (estimation)_… Seeing this little information of the killer made her laugh. "Ha! More like 130 cm." She said sarcastically. _Nen type: Transmutation or Conjuration (Guessed), Born: Meteor City._

Mizutsuki's clock stopped working. And it was not the cuckoo clock that was hung on the wall. It was her clock; every gear that was running inside her stopped functioning. The shock that he too was from Meteor City was a much too big.

The bonds between the residents were strong; they were family. They were all people who had been abandoned by the people whom the laws define as _parents_. And they raised each other; the residents of Meteor City would never kill one another, that was just unacceptable.

She was sure that among the thousand people she had killed so far; none of them were from Meteor City. For one: the residents of said city have no records that he or she was ever alive. It's logically impossible for them to be acknowledged by the society without birth certificates; unless someone helped them forge one. For two: even if they got the forged certificates; they would still be hesitant to use it. Or the people would still not acknowledge their presence since they are from the famous junkyard.

And for three; they are from _Meteor City_, they are proud of who they are. If they accepted the name of others, it would be betraying the ten million people back home. The people who had raised you, your family.

She still remembered the motto of the residents. _We accept everything. So don't take anything back._ The simple sentence had already been branded into her mind since she was small, since before she was given to the Mafia for training to become an assassin.

But now what? The information said that her opponents were from Meteor City, and is part of the Genei Ryodan, which was also made up of other Meteor City inhabitants. So out of morals and rules, she shouldn't attack them. But then they were attacking her; whose fault is it now? Screw this, she was going to sue god in court.

Grabbing her handbag and trench coat she decided to go out for a walk, perhaps buy a few cans of beer home and try to wash away her anxiousness with the hangover. She once vowed that she would never kill her family, the other citizens of Meteor City. But now they were going to kill her; which was more important? Her life or her vows?

But it doesn't matter really; because if she did kill one of them; she will die too.

* * *

Back inside the Spider hideout; Chrollo read through Shalnark's gathering of information on the girl. The leader nodded and stood up. "Thank you Shalnark." He said curtly.

"Anytime!" Shalnark said in his cheerful tone of a teenager. "Where are you going though danchou?"

"This building is too smothering, I'm going out for a walk…"

* * *

**Because of a lot of reasons (a.k.a time setting... etc), Omokage is still alive and he has not been killed by Hisoka yet. But I'll probably find some crappy reason to shoo him away (Since I haven't watched the movie yet.). Better not write him if I'd get him out of character; I'm sure that you think that too.**

**So yeah yeah, what do you think of this chapter? Genei Ryodan knows about Mizutsuki's existence now and they are searching for her (With the painting as their priority). And Mizutsuki learned that her opponents are also from Meteor City which she is from as well; and she considers all the citizens family. And now she is hesitating to kill them. It's kinda crappy and cheesy I know but... actually, I have nothing to say, it's just crappy (I'm sorry). And what the heck does that sentence_ "But it doesn't matter really; because if she did kill one of them; she will die too."_ mean? **

**Well don't ask me, read on yourself. Review please! (or die.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**OMG I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE FOR THREE DAYS! AND I JUST SAY THAT I CAN UPDATE IN A DAY OR TWO. I'M SO FRIGGIN SORRY! I was re-watching One Piece and you know... I got carried away. **

**Anyways, enjoy this late chapter of mine!**

* * *

"How old are you? Miss." The bartender frowned at Mizutsuki. She shot him an ice cold glare. "None of your business…" She said in a low, deadly tone. The other customers shifted away from her.

The bartender blinked. "What are your fancies then? Miss." He stammered.

"Anything, something weak. I don't wanna pass out on the streets."

The bartender nodded. He was not sure of the customer's age; this request was easier for him as well. "Champagne?"

"Sure."

The bartender placed a delicate glass in front of her; she sipped the drink and muttered. "Goddamn them… They're from Meteor City…" _I don't want to kill people with the same past_.

But then again; she couldn't kill them either.

The reason why her nen ability was so powerful was because of the _Vows and Limitations_. She had vows and limits; and the vow was to never harm people with the same past as her. It was a simple vow, but it gave her nen ability a large boast. Not much people would have the same past as her anyway. Since it was not often she'd encounter people from Meteor City.

But now there was a Phinks and a Feitan and a Genei Ryodan in front of her, wanting her life and the painting. "Would they let me go if I just gave them the painting…? No." She could slowly feel the alcohol affecting her. _They would have no problem killing me, they outnumber me by a _lot_. They'd torture me to death; and interrogate the whereabouts of the painting…_

"Agh godammit." She scowled. "I need to think of something." Mizutsuki was in definite downwind now. Once she attacks them with the Corrosive Mist, she'd lose her nen ability forever. But if she doesn't fight back, she'll most likely die. What should she do now? Put the painting inside a big white box, seal it with a pink ribbon and send this to them as a gift and surrender?

No that's not allowed; her pride will not allow it.

"Would you like anything else? Miss." The bartender asked.

"…wine, I guess. I've changed my mind, give me something strong."

The bartender seemed lost and hesitant, but he nodded and walked away. He paused on the way and turned back. "May I have your age? Miss. Or else I may not be able to give you certain drinks."

"…Twenty-one." She lied.

"May I have your ID card please?"

She shot him a glare and her killing aura poured out; the other customers around her felt a shiver down their spines and they quietly shifted away. "Will you shut up about my age?" She deadpanned. "If I wasn't twenty-one I wouldn't be here; I'd get kicked out by the guard at the door." She slammed the forged ID card onto the table.

The bartender took a glance and then hurried away. Mizutsuki sighed. "A bunch of idiots…" She muttered. Her real age was nineteen, and it wasn't for another seven months until her birthday. But then again, because of her special situation, she had been in lots of places she shouldn't be in already. Twenty was the legal adult age in her country.

Her mood was worse than ever.

* * *

Nobunaga kicked open the door of the apartment and marched in. Behind him followed Machi, Pakunoda, Shalnark, Phinks, and Feitan. "This is where she lives?" Nobunaga asked loudly.

Shalnark nodded. "According to the hunter site on the information of Mafia trained assassins; _yes_, this is her apartment."

Machi looked around thoughtfully. "Not bad, I like her style."

Phinks shot her a glance. "Don't creep me out even more you two."

"You wanna be creeped out even more?" Shalnark piped up. "They're both nineteen."

"Holy fuck are you two some kind of doppelganger?"

Machi kicked Phinks in the shin and Phinks crumbled. "Well? Where is she then?" She asked, looking around. Her gaze fell upon the silver laptop and she picked it up. She blinked at the screen. "Hey, seems like she was looking at criminal files before she got spirited away."

Everyone gathered around her; Machi flopped down on the couch. "And she was looking at yours, Feitan." She added and then scrolled through the browsing history. "Probably because the files are in alphabetical order and F comes before P. She hadn't been into the Ryodan's Profile yet; so she only knows that you two are part of the Ryodan.

"And none of the others are." Feitan said, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Why me?"

"Because your name is in the front." Nobunaga answered dully. Pakunoda pushed past the arguing couple and sat down beside Machi. She placed a hand onto the laptop and started to read the past.

After a minute she spoke. "She's from Meteor City as well." Her queen-like voice was soaked in disbelief.

Everyone beside her looked at her in shock. "Are you serious Pakunoda?" Nobunaga demanded.

"Hey, don't ever distrust Pakunoda on this." Shalnark exclaimed. "If she says so, it must be true."

Pakunoda continued. "And it seems like she went out for a drink… She's somehow frustrated that we're from Meteor City. I cannot read why though."

"Meh, we can worry about that later." Phinks crossed his arms. "The important thing is, if she went out for a drink, where did she go? I doubt that she'd be stupid enough to hide it in her house."

"There are auction windows open; she may be auctioning it on the net. It's been barely a day since she got the painting, she wouldn't have it sold already. It's hidden somewhere." Pakunoda concluded.

Shalnark looked thoughtful. "Well, if she went out for a drink; it wouldn't be bars, since she is not a legal adult. Probably at a convenient store buying drinks?"

Phinks ignored the going conversation and walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge. "Goddamn it, won't she ever starve?"

"What's in there?" Machi asked.

"Energy drinks, a tuna sandwich, and some beer." He pulled out a can of beer, opened it, and started to drink.

Feitan crossed his arms and paced around the room. "If she had beer already in her house, she wouldn't go out to convenient stores to buy more beer. She probably wanted to drink something strong."

"But where can a young woman like her go in the middle of the night to find strong alcohol drinks?" Machi frowned.

Nobunaga shook his head. "She's a Mafia trained assassin. Forging IDs are a piece of cake for them; she probably has a dozen forged IDs saying that she's an adult."

Shalnark clapped his hands. "Well then, now we've narrowed down our search to places with strong alcohol, we can contact others. Bonolenov, Franklin, Coltopi, Uvogin, Omokage, and Danchou."

"Danchou's searching too?" Feitan asked.

"Well, he said that the hideout is too smothering and wanted to go out for a walk. I think that danchou would look out for her too on the way."

* * *

Chrollo walked around in a black t-shirt and dark grey pants. A headband covered up the tattoo on his forehead. No one would suspect him that he was actually the leader of the fearsome Genei Ryodan. He looked like any other normal citizen of Rivelle.

That night; the never-ending rain unnaturally stopped and for the first time in a few months, the citizens got a glimpse of the starry night sky and the moon. The sight of the starry night was too beautiful for the hypocrites and the liars to see. Chrollo thought.

As he was planning on turning around and going back to the hideout, he felt a large wave of pure dark aura pouring from out of the bar beside him. The level of that killing aura could only belong to the Ryodan members. The coldness and darkness; however, Chrollo could not recognize it. It was not from the Ryodan members, so who could it be?

He pushed open the door and walked into the bar; immediately he noticed the weird atmosphere and the shuffling customers. They were all trying to get away from one girl. The girl did not seem to notice that she was not popular among the bar customers. She poured the bottle of red wine into a glass and chugged it all down before refilling the glass again.

"She is…?" Chrollo mumbled. He recognized her from the files Shalnark showed him. It was the female assassin they were all looking for. The one who took away the Ryodan's target painting.

Slowly he walked over to the drunken assassin and slid into the seat beside her. She glanced up at him and paused, squinting to focus. For a second Chrollo was worried that she would recognize him in some way. But within a second she looked back down again at her glass.

"Young ladies like you shouldn't be out alone in a bar this late at night." He put on the most pleasant smile possible.

"…It doesn't madder… (**It doesn't matter.**)" She muttered after a considerably long moment of silence.

"What doesn't matter?" Chrollo pushed; a plan forming in his head. The Ryodan's opponent was drunk; perhaps he can get her to tell him where she hid the painting. And get a clearer idea of her ability; according to Phinks and Feitan, her nen ability was hard to cope with. And by getting _a clearer idea_, he meant _steal it_.

"My bife is ruwned! (**My life is ruined**)" She suddenly wailed and slammed her forehead on the table, making a loud _clang_. Chrollo immediately patted her shoulder. _She is really drunk_. He thought. _This is a good chance_. "Hey!" He exclaimed, continuing on his Mr. Good-Guy act. "Don't try to hurt yourself no matter how desperate you are! You can tell me your problems, if it will help."

Mizutsuki Shimo looked up, and then turned to face him properly. Chrollo saw her face from the front for the first time. She was not bad looking; with a face that would be put in the _good-looking_ section. But now she was drunk; from the memories he read from Feitan and Phinks, the expression of when she was sober was so sharp and terrifying it would actually be placed in the _fearsome_ section with no connection with _good-looking_.

The assassin chugged down the wine directly from the large bottle then wiped her chin with the back of her hand. "I dink I'be zeen you zombwhere dough… (**I think I've seen you somewhere though.**)" She squinted again. Chrollo was frozen for a second, and then she looked down again. "Whadever. (**Whatever**)"

"So does that mean you'll tell me?" Chrollo went on cautiously. He may looked carefree and polite on the outside, but on the inside, he was busy calculating the success rate of plans A, B, C, D, and E.

Mizutsuki chugged down the bottle. "Whadever; doday dis morning, I vent to ma assa… assasitting…? (**Whatever; today this morning I went to my assassinating…**)" She couldn't seem to remember the word _assassinating_. "Anyvays, these do guyz…! (**Anyways, these two guys…!**)" She made hand gestures. "Gilled ma darget! (**Killed my target!**)" She broke into tears at this point and Chrollo helped wipe them off her cheek. _Drunken people sure are annoying… _He thought.

After a minute of soothing, she then let out a bark of laughter, making Chrollo jump. She banged her fist on the table and leaned backwards on the chair, pointing up at the ceiling. "So I dook deir darget bainting! (**So I took their target painting!**)" She laughed, waving her arms. "I stole deir darget bainting! I dook deir darget bainting! Bwahahaha! (**I stole their target painting! I took their target painting! Bwahahaha!**)"

Chrollo nodded slowly. "Okay…"

Mizutsuki went on happily and chugged down more liquid from the bottle. "But den, I vent back ome and searched dem up. And I bound out dey were brom Meteo Zity. (**But then, I went back home and searched them up. And I found out they were from Meteor City.**)" Her grin dropped downwards dramatically. "But dis iz a broblem; my nen abilidy cannot work on Meteo Zity rezidents… (**But this is a problem, my nen ability cannot work on Meteor City residents…**)"

_Here we go_. Chrollo thought. "Why can't your ability work on Meteor City residents?" He asked. _The Bandit's Secret_ materialized in his hand.

"Id iz something about de rules and bows… (**It is something about the rules and vows.**)" She drew circles in the air with her finger. "If I hurt Meteo Zity beople, I'd lose ma nen ability… (**If I hurt Meteor City people, I'd lose my nen ability…**)"

_Rules and Vows? Vows and Limitations? I get it now…_ _The first part's done_. Chrollo thought. _Now I need to see her nen ability with my own eyes and let her touch_ _**The Bandit's Secret**_. Boldly he reached out for her hand and placed it onto the book's cover. Mizutsuki giggled. "Wad are you doing? (**What are you doing?**)"

"Nothing." Chrollo said nonchalantly and the book disappeared. _Now I need to see her ability for real… it wouldn't be hard considering she's drunk. And then I'll hand it to Feitan to interrogate her for the whereabouts of the painting_. "What is your ability anyway? It doesn't seem very convenient if it can't be used against people."

"Wad are you dalking about? (**What are you talking about?**)" She waved her fist angrily. "Id iz berry gonvenient. (**It is very convenient.**)"

"What is your ability?" Chrollo asked again.

"I can condrol de pH lebel of dings I touch! And ma aura as bell! (**I can control the pH level of things I touch! And my aura as well!**)" She said proudly.

Chrollo nodded; he had to admit. This _was_ a really convenient ability, the reason she was able to melt off faces and locks was because that she changed the pH level of her aura to the level of strong acids. Strong acid and alkali can melt nearly everything. Not to mention she can manipulate them as she pleases along with the things she touch. He wanted this ability badly. "Wow, that's so cool, can you show me it?"

"Sure!" She grinned sleepily. "Just… wait… a second…" She finished the bottle. Chrollo looked around and realized that they were the only customers still in the bar. "I vant more wine! (**I want more wine!**)" She shouted.

The bartender shook his head. "Sorry miss, we're closing now."

"Vat? I dought dat you were dwenty-boar ours open! Are you a bar? (**What? I thought that you were twenty-four hours open! Aren't you a bar?**)"

"We're very sorry miss. Would you like us to call a taxi for you?"

Chrollo stood up. "Nope, I'll walk her home. Okay Mizutsuki?" He smiled.

Mizutsuki squinted at him. "Do I know you?" She questioned.

"Yes you do, I'm your friend. My, you really got drunk today, let's go home." He pulled her out of the seat and walked out the door.

The girl wobbled beside him, looking like she was going to collapse any moment. Chrollo was rather panicked now. All three of the conditions must be done in an hour and he had barely thirty minutes left. He needed to see her ability before he can steal it. "Are you sure you can do this?" He asked. "Can you show me your nen ability."

"Of course I can!" She exclaimed, pouting. "Wo do you dink I am? (**Who do you think I am?**)"

"Well, I'm excited. Can you demonstrate now?"

"Of course… just… just…" She raised a finger and grabbed onto Chrollo's sleeve with her spare hand. "Gimme a pew seconds… (**Gimme a few seconds…**)"

Chrollo used Gyo and tried to see the change in her aura. But there was no change; only that the movement was really messed up due to her being drunk. Mizutsuki hung her head and collapsed. "Zorry… I can't… Wait undil tomorrow pwease… I feel bad… (**Sorry, I can't… Wait until tomorrow please… I feel bad…**)"

"Huh? Wait…!" Chrollo exclaimed but it was too late. The girl had fallen asleep in the middle of the road, looking sick from the alcohol overload. Her face was heavy with the drunken red hue. Chrollo sighed; seems like it was impossible to steal her ability; once you fail in stealing ones' ability, it's impossible to steal it again. He pulled her up. "But still we need to learn where she hid the painting…" He said.

* * *

**Okay, I know that the drunken sentences are a pain to read, I'm so sorry! And btw, I'm still planning on shooing away Omokage (srry). And I'm setting Shalnark's age at 19, because from what I learned, he's the same age as Machi. There's a lot of different sayings of his age for some reason, but meh, being the careless author I am, I'll go with what I like :P.**

**So yes! Chrollo wanted her ability but failed to steal it; I made up the _failed-once-never-again_ thing too, just saying. (I just had the impression I heard it somewhere, so I wrote it in.) Although they're still trying to focus on the painting, their attention is getting distracted; DANCHOU wants her ability now but failed to steal it!What will he do next? (Look at the title of the story and you'll know *points* This is not a spoiler technically) How will the members react to this news? **

**Favorite, Follow, and Review! (Or die ^^)**


	5. Chapter 5

Mizutsuki slowly grew conscious; before she knew it she was awake with a splitting headache as an alarm. She sat up and felt the hungover wash over her. "Ow-ow-ow…" She whined. "I shouldn't have drank so much… Especially when I'm in such a desperate situation; what the heck was I thinking?"

She would have continued her cussing if she didn't look down and notice her tied up hands and body. "_What the…!_" She exclaimed. She was tied up tight from the shoulder to the ankles in thick rope. "_What the hell is this?_" She screamed. She winced as soon as she raised her voice. She silently cursed herself for going out drinking yesterday.

"But wait a sec…" She muttered, scrunching up her eyebrows and trying to remember what happened. She was drunk alright, and there seemed to be someone beside her. That _someone_ was also the one who brought her back home.

"How did that guy know where I live?" She frowned. Her memories were blurry; she couldn't even remember what kind of fucked up conversation she had with the stranger. Somehow she felt like she recognized the blurry face from somewhere.

Deciding that she'd save up the mysteries for later, Mizutsuki settled on trying to untie herself first. The ropes were normal ropes; not conjured ones with special abilities like mandatorily forcing one's aura into _Zetsu_. She took longer time than usual to gather up her aura in her palms; due to the hungover and being freshly awake, her aura wasn't running very smoothly. As soon as she gathered enough aura, she melted off the ropes from her wrists. Her skin was protected, but her bed sheet wasn't.

"Goddamn it." She scowled. "I need to buy a new bed sheet."

After her hands were free, she settled to untying herself. It wasn't hard; while she was still in training under the Mafia, they had taught multiple techniques of getting free from ropes. Like a snake she slithered out of the rope's grasp and cracked her neck. It hurted; but it felt well. Next she cracked her wrists, fingers, and spine. "Ahh, that feels better." She sighed. "And now…"

Her killing aura poured out. The one that walked her home was the major suspect in tying her up. But the guy wasn't shorty or no-eyebrows (If she remembered it right); it was someone else. This guy wouldn't have dared to approach her if he didn't know that she was hiding a valuable painting. Normal people wouldn't dare approach her either even when she's sober.

_I hid the painting somewhere else._ She thought. _I don't remember being interrogated either; but if I slipped out the whereabouts of the painting when I was drunk, he wouldn't have brought me home either… The painting's safe. _Subconsciously she let out a sigh of relief. _So I guess I'm safe… for now. Unless that guy casted some kind of nen power over me. Like having a nail perched on top of my heart and is ready to pierce through it any moment._

She slowly walked towards the door and opened it.

In that second she felt traces of nine different killing auras directed towards her from different directions. She dodged to the left and barely got out of the track of a bullet. She didn't have time to focus on who shot the bullet because the second wave of attack was already here. A shower of needles rained from the top of her head and she used her nen to guard; in a split second she had changed her aura to extremely strong acid, melting the needles before they touched her. With speed she rolled out of the way and the melted metal dropped onto the ground, creating a silver mess. With Gyo she saw multiple nen threads attached to it; however the threads did not budge anymore. _What the heck…? _She thought.

The third wave of attack reached her before she could finish her thought. A samurai appeared in front of her and she yelped; the samurai pulled out his sword and slashed towards her with extreme speed; she was starting to mess up. What the hell was a _samurai_ doing in her house? She held up her hands and formed an **X** to guard while jumping backwards. The tip of the sword made a small cut on her right forearm but before it could make a deeper wound it melted of her aura.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

The samurai scowled at seeing his sword damaged but didn't answer; instead he pointed to her back. Was it her imagination? He looked slightly impressed.

"Huh?" She blinked as she was swallowed under a shadow and she looked back to see a wild beast towering over her. Focusing her blurry eyes she realized that it was a man. The man grinned wildly and punched down towards her. She screamed for real and dodged again; she was sent flying of the impact as the punch hit the ground.

The floor broke instantly and the whole building shook. She felt the sensation of dropping downwards and realized that she really was in fact falling towards the story below her. She knew that the killing auras she felt earlier when walking out of her room was from these attackers; so that meant she had to dodge four or five more waves of unexpected attacks.

She knew that the first thing on the to-do list was to _survive_. She reached out her hand and let the air touch her skin. Changing the pH level to the level of hydrogen fluoride. All four attackers – maybe even more – that were hiding in her apartment would die instantly once exposed to the gas.

She grabbed onto a metal pipe that became naked due to the wild-looking man's powerful punch. Looking down she saw two blood puddles; the couple below her had been crushed by the falling debris. She shuddered and thought of what could have happened if she took the punch with her body.

Letting go of the naked metal pipes she jumped down onto the ground and dashed towards the exit. "What's wrong with those people?" She muttered. She had a hunch those people were linked with Shorty, No-Eyebrows, and the man that she met at the bar. Her hangover had been scared away like hiccups. But she did notice the unnatural; there were plenty chances and gaps to attack even before she changed the acidity of the air. Why didn't the four attackers seize their chance?

Bursting out onto the empty road she was met with yet another attack. Mr. No-Eyebrows was waiting for her and she gasped. "_You_!"

Mr. No-Eyebrows was in front of her in the blink of an eye and the two were immediately engaged in and epic battle of martial arts. Mizutsuki had taken many classes on this subject when she was still in training and she knew that she was better than most of the so-called _masters_. But this man in front of her was obviously better. A _lot_ better.

He grabbed towards her neck and she recognized it as the twelfth move of the Shaolin Martial Arts. But he had added some thoughts of his own to it so it was hard to predict the paths of the moves. With a raise of her left hand she pushed his arm to her right, his hand missed her neck by an inch and she quickly sidestepped away. This time she grabbed his right arm and locked it tight with her own right arm while her left hand grabbed his chin and forced him to look upwards, therefore changing his center of gravity to the sole of his foot. She raised her left leg and tripped him; she heard a satisfying crunch and knew that she had broken his leg.

He fell backwards but did not miss her chance to grab her along; There was a sickening snap and she knew that her arm was broken as well. She felt a cold chill down her spine and gasped. Behind her was a smiling blonde boy that for sure wasn't there earlier; he was holding some sort of needle and phone in his hands. "I wonder if your aura can affect the needle," He said thoughtfully then shrugged. "We'll see as soon as we try."

With that said, he started to pierce the needle into her back but with quick reflexes Mizutsuki kicked away his arm and sent the needle flying. "Ahh! The Antenna!" He exclaimed and dashed away to look for his precious needle. "Where is it? Where is it?" He paced around worriedly.

No-Eyebrows still maintained a firm grasp on her arm. _What strength…_ she thought. But then she remembered the hairy guy that ruined the apartment floor. _Meh, he's nothing compared to that guy… Are they friends?_

Then she remembered. "Feitan!" She exclaimed, somehow feeling prideful for finally remembering the name.

No-Eyebrows stared at her. "What?" He said.

"You're friends with Feitan, right Mr. No-Eyebrows?" Mizutsuki looked at him; the gears in her brain was finally recovering from the alcohol damage. Phink's face twitched at hearing his nickname. "Feitan's part of the Genei Ryodan, you're his friend, so you're part of the Ryodan too! And so are your other friends that tried to kill me! Like that freaking samurai and the over-muscular Tarzan and that Blondie over there!"

"Took you long enough to realize…" The man muttered. "Don't drink if you can't hold your liquor!"

"Fuck you!" She snapped and shoved her free elbow into his stomach. He grabbed the free arm and snapped it too, scowling. "Watch your language, little bitch!"

An alarm in her head rang. "Oh my god oh my god!" She exclaimed, suddenly panicking. "If they're part of the Genei Ryodan then they're from Meteor City! Holy gosh please tell me that they won't die easily!" Drops of cold sweat trickled down her cheek. If the corrosive mist had killed the five attackers she'd lose her nen ability permanently, then she would have no chance in beating them (Although the situation did not look very bright right now either).

"CAN'T YOU SAVE YOUR MULTIPLE-PERSONALITY DISORDER FOR LATER?" He roared. "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU AFTER THIS FOR BREAKING MY LEG AND STEALING OUR TARGET!"

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE?" Mizutsuki screamed back. "I COULD CARE LESS FOR AN EYEBROW-LESS IDIOT LIKE YOU! WANNA SEE ME TRY?"

Blondie finally found his beloved antenna and came running back to them. "Sorry!" He laughed. "It rolled under the vending machine. But it doesn't seem like we need it anymore." He paused. "By the way, kinky pose you two got there."

"Screw you blondie." "Screw you Shalnark." Mizutsuki had broken Phink's leg so he was sitting on the ground. And Phinks was holding both her broken arms so she was sitting in his lap. Despite the broken arms, she still managed to flip Blondie off.

She felt a killing aura radiating behind her and before she can react Feitan had his knife-like hand at her neck. "Keep being so cocky, and your head falls." He said in a dangerously low tone. "If we didn't know where the painting is we'd have killed you already."

"Why, was killing me that hard?" She snorted. Feitan scowled and stepped on her leg and snapped it too; Mizutsuki winced. "Dammit…" _Two broken arms and one broken leg… I can't attack these two with my nen or I'd lose my ability permanently… what to do what to do…!_

"I have to admit though, that _was_ something there, being able to dodge all of our attacks one after another. But you can't blame her for losing to Phinks in martial arts; her strength and hangover is already a disadvantage." Came a different voice and Mizutsuki looked up to see a Frankenstein with extra-long earlobes. "Although none of you guys used your full strength. And Shalnark you were just playing right?" He shot a dull glare at Blondie, who laughed. "I figured that there was no need anymore that Phinks had caught her."

Frankenstein sighed. "I'm Franklin, the one you call Mr. No-Eyebrows is Phinks and that Blondie over there is Shalnark."

"Seems like you're easier to talk to." Mizutsuki mused; she looked down at Mr. No-Eyebrows and frowned. "Were you born that way though?"

"Don't go any forward." Shalnark whispered; she jumped. When had he moved to her back? She stared at the smiling boy, he couldn't be much older than her; but he was most definitely a member of the Phantom Troupe. His whole skill could not yet be estimated from what she had seen, but she knew that he was strong. _Very_ strong. She felt chills down her spine that a guy with a sunny smile like him could be a ruthless killer.

"Seriously, it's for your own good." He continued. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Feitan slightly shaking his head as well. It wasn't for a long time before she finally nodded. Having no eyebrows seemed like a touchy subject.

"Where is Pakunoda?" Franklin frowned.

Shalnark looked up and yelled. "Pakunoda! Uvo! Nobunaga! Machi!"

Four shadows emerged from the pile of debris that was once her apartment and walked towards them. One was a tall, slender woman with a aquiline nose. Another was a young girl with pink hair wearing a kunoichi outfit. And the other two was the Tarzan and samurai.

"She's not too bad." The samurai mused. "It's impressive that she's able to dodge all our attacks considering that she's hungover and just woke up."

"Agreed." Muscle-man Tarzan boomed with laughter and slapped her on the back – she felt that something cracked. "Good job there."

"Hey Uvo," Said the pink-haired kunoichi. "Watch your strength or you may break her spine."

As far as she observed, she liked the kunoichi the most. Reasonable enough and calm; not to mention with a fascinating hair color.

"She may have passed our little test, but that does not mean we'll accept her." The tall woman regarded coldly. She put her hand onto Mizutsuki's shoulder and closed her eyes. At first Mizutsuki wasn't sure of what she was doing, but when she let go of her, she understood. "The painting is hidden under a tree root at the edge of Ria's Hill." She announced.

Mizutsuki could swear that the woman's emotionless face had turned into a smirk in that split second.

"The ability of reading memories..." She mumbled in horror. _Oh god oh god oh god!_ She was screaming inside her head. _What should I do what should I do? They know where the painting is now, they're going to kill me! Oh dear lord god please no! I don't want to die! _Her normal coolness and calm was now replaced by fear and desperation. This was really her end.

The Ryodan members seemed to be amused by her horrified expression.

"What? You think that we'd kill you?" Nobunaga snorted.

Mizutsuki was honest and she nodded.

Phinks laughed dryly. "The idea sounds awfully appealing." He muttered.

"Stupid pharaoh with no eyebrows…" Mizutsuki hissed under her breath; but the members of the Genei Ryodan had the hearing of a bat to the tenth power. Shalnark couldn't keep in his laughter and bursted out laughing, the samurai snorted. Phinks scowled and hardened his grip on her arms. "Ouch..." Those two arms would have a hard time healing; even if it did get any time to heal.

"Well then," Shalnark pulled her up. "Let's go!"

"_Wha_-?" Mizutsuki didn't get to finish her sentence, because by then Nobunaga had knocked her out with the back of his sword. Uvogin threw her over his shoulder and carried her carelessly like a sack of grenades.

(Idiom used because the Phantom Troupe would have indeed been careless with a sack of grenades.)

"Can you walk?" Feitan raised an eyebrow at Phinks.

"Yeah, the pain I can deal with. But she fucking shattered my left leg!" The pharaoh looked extremely pissed.

Machi shrugged. "You're still whining and complaining, you look healthy to me. But didn't you break both her arms _and_ a leg?"

"Machi...!"

"Whatever; we'll deal with her after we retrieved the painting. Until then Danchou wants to keep her locked inside the hideout."

"Why can't we kill her now?" Phinks complained. Feitan had the same pouting expression on his face (If he _could_ pout.).

"It seems like Danchou wants her in the Ryodan," Franklin supplied. "There's one spot available, correct? Number eight? Her nen ability is quite convenient to be honest; and she's not too shabby compared to any of us either."

"I object to that thought." Feitan said. "I don't like her."

"Neither do I." Phinks joined in.

"_I don't like it I don't want it._" Nobunaga snickered. "What are you, toddlers? Kindergarteners? Danchou decides everything, the rules are rules."

"Nobunaga...!"

Machi sighed as a fight broke out between the three. "Let's go Paku, there's no need to care for the three idiots."

"Agreed." Pakunoda walked away after the kunoichi and the others.

* * *

**You like it? To be honest I don't have a lot of information on the other's abilities, let alone how to describe them. But Phinks! You're a savior! He's easy to write because I read a bunch of stuff involving martial arts. And moves are easy to make up. And his nen ability is simple too, turn your arm around a few times and BAM! Your enemy is dead. Convenient enough (for me to write. *cough*).**

**You know, on second thought, I could try writing some romance, but there'd be no official pairing whatsoever. But yeah, that's still just a thought. Review or PM me what you think.**

**Danchou wants her in the Ryodan? How would she react at this news? What's going to happen now? Agghh my head is exploding with ideas, so I'll guarantee you an AWESOME plot twist, just you wait and see! Oh-ho-ho! *smoke bomb***


	6. Chapter 6

"Our guest seemed injured." Chrollo mused upon seeing Mizutsuki unconscious and being piggybacked. "What did the eight of you do?"

"We know that Danchou wants her in the Ryodan. So before capturing her we tested her a little bit to see if she is worthy. Did we do something wrong?" Uvogin raised an eyebrow.

Chrollo shook his head. "Nope, it's fine. And the results?"

"She's not too shabby alright. She was able to dodge most of our attacks or defend it. She even lasted 'bout thirty seconds with Phinks."

Being a skilled martial arts master, Phinks knew all his moves to the point that he can demonstrate all of them in his sleep without making a single mistake; he was also very fast and his speed was hard to keep up. Thirty seconds was an impressive record for someone freshly awoke and hungover.

"Okay," Chrollo snapped his book shut and stood up. "Nobunaga, Uvo, Coltopi, Pakunoda, Bonolenov, Omokage. The six of you go retrieve the painting. The rest will stay here in the base; Machi and Shalnark, you two keep watch over our guest 24/7. Do not let her escape no matter what happens."

Omokage raised his hand. "Danchou,"

"Hm?"

"I would like to leave the Ryodan from now on until our next meeting. There are some family issues I must deal with."

"…Very well," Chrollo sighed. "Franklin, you go."

Franklin nodded mutely. With a slight bow Omokage left the troupe; the other members clearly looked unhappy about thus, but they didn't complain.

Shalnark nudged Machi and pointed at their so-called guest. "Let's drag her to the other room." He suggested.

Machi sighed and nodded. "Yeah, it's gonna be a long while before the others come back."

Outside the abandoned building, thunder rumbled and the rain started to fall again. Machi looked out the shattered glass window; the wind was blowing in coldly along with the rain. "You say that the three of us are in the same age group?" Machi asked, regarding the unconscious assassin in front of her.

"Yep!" Shalnark was playing snake on his phone. "We're all born in 1975, and she's born in September, younger than me, but you don't know your birthday date so we can't decide who's the oldest."

"Let's just say I'm the oldest." Machi concluded. "But, she's from Meteor City too; the birthday date you learned from the Hunter site could be made up by the Mafia for all you know."

Shalnark looked up at her. "You have a point there, Machi. But I don't think that the Hunter site would give false information."

"And _you_?" Machi deadpanned. "How many times have I seen you upload false information onto the site to hide our trail and plans?"

"Oh my…" The blonde laughed. "You found the paradox!"

"Sometimes I wonder are you really the smartest guy apart from Danchou in the Ryodan." Machi crossed her arms. She then pulled out a brown bag from her pocket and tossed it to him.

"What's this?" Shalnark asked with a frown.

"Different identities the Mafia forged for her; I found those lying around the house." She said nonchalantly. "There's probably more." Shalnark opened the bag and forged ID cards rained out of the bag.

"…Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three?" He looked awed. "She has twenty-three different identities? That's so damn convenient! If I had the time I would try to forge IDs as well. But then again, I don't." He sighed deeply. "If I had forged IDs I could get access to the Hunter Exams again; that was one of the most exciting experiences in my life!"

"Exactly what does the Hunter Exams do?" Machi asked. "Or more accurately, what did _you_ do during it?"

Shalnark looked thoughtful. "Well first, our examiner was a small girl; really cute, but guess what? She's like fifty years old! That child-like appearance is granted by her nen ability." He still looked amazed even though it was just a memory. "She told us to run an obstacle marathon and only the top fifty can get to the second stage; it was about a few hundred miles long. And the place was so damn weird; first there was a volcano section where magma and stuff spews out of the surface every three seconds. Then we had to swim through an ice-cold lake. After that we somehow ended up fighting monsters in a dark underground cave."

Machi's eye twitched. "Sounds interesting…"

"That's only the first stage." Shalnark continued. "In the second stage we were forced to take a freaking written test of the world history, biology, geology, astrology, socials, math, chemistry, criminology…"

"You aced it." Machi pointed out dully.

"Yes, yes I did. But then the third stage was the hand-to-hand combat of the top ten participants of the Hunter Exam that passed the second stage…"

"You aced that as well."

"Yeah, I did, and then I became a Hunter."

Machi frowned. "Just like that?"

"Yep!" Shalnark smiled. "It's quite easy to be honest, the Hunter Exams; if anyone of the Ryodan wanted to they'd become Hunters easily, but the experience was fun. I actually controlled quite a few participants to do work for me, like…" He didn't finish his sentence.

Mizutsuki stirred and opened her eyes. Machi and Shalnark immediately knelt down and stared at her, waiting for her to come into focus and curious for her reaction. "Hey, are you alright?" Shalnark asked.

Mizutsuki blinked, and slowly the shine entered her eyes. "Wait… wha…? Huh?" Then she jumped; the suddenness startled both the Ryodan members as well. "Ow-ow-ow!" She screamed, looking like she was in immense pain from a migraine – hold up, the two think they know why Mizutsuki was having a migraine. "What the fuck? Screw that eyebrow-less pharaoh and shorty and that samurai! I'm gonna murder them, dismember their bodies and throw the meat chunks into the ocean!"

"Don't pollute the environment." Shalnark said.

She scowled. "_Huh_?"

_If looks could kill…_That idiom was designed especially for her. Machi and Shalnark thought. Despite the fact that Mizutsuki had a handsome face, her expression was just _too_ unfriendly for people to notice the fact.

Machi sighed. "If either Phinks or Feitan hear their nicknames again, we cannot guarantee that you'd survive to see the next sunrise. Thank god that they're not here."

"No, they're here, with Danchou in the other room." Shalnark pointed out. "They might have heard that and is plotting her demise right now… I think I'll go check." With a swift move he glided out of the room and walked to the other.

Mizutsuki glared at Machi. "You know where the painting is now, so why don't you guys just kill me already?"

Machi shrugged. "Who knows? Danchou doesn't feel like killing you now, so we won't." All the Ryodan members had made an agreement of not telling their prisoner of their leader's true intentions.

"What about the shorty and no-eyebrows Blondie just mentioned that he's going to check on?"

"We have names, Stupid Hypocrite Assassin." Machi muttered and kicked Mizutsuki's injured leg lightly. "I'm Machi, Blondie's Shalnark. We're sent to watch over you because of Danchou's orders; we don't know why we were assigned with this troublesome job, but I guess it's because that we're all the same age. That is, if the age of you on the Hunter site is not fake. Don't expect us to be any nice on you if try to _escape_."

At this point she knelt down beside her. "Actually, on second thought; don't _talk_ of escaping, don't _think_ of escaping, and don't _**dream**_ of escaping. We will not hesitate to kill you if you do any of the things mentioned above. Clear?"

Machi's ice cold gaze was piercing and it sent shivers down her spine. Mizutsuki knew that she meant it – she'll take back the thought that she actually liked Machi before. "Whatever."

"I'll take that as a yes."

The atmosphere was tense between the two girls. Mizutsuki's mind was racing of all the possibilities she could go with of escaping. She was injured and immobilized, she cannot attack the Ryodan members with her nen, and she was outnumbered. She wanted to cry of her dilemma.

Shalnark slipped back in and closed the door behind him. "You should feel relieved, Feitan was taking a nap and he didn't hear you. Phinks is out to buy cigarettes." He looked more relieved than she was.

"I'd rather Shorty kill me right now instead of being tortured by you guys." Mizutsuki muttered.

"You don't understand; torture is not in our territory, _Feitan_ is the Ryodan's torturer. He wouldn't just kill you quickly like you want him to. He can make your pain last for days if he feels like it. You should be glad." Shalnark nodded to himself.

"Whatever…" Mizutsuki slowly raised her arms and both the Ryodan members got into battle position, their killing aura reeking out.

"Chill, just trying to set my arms." She muttered. Gritting her teeth she forced the bones back into place. There was a sickening snap twice, once for each arm. "Now for the leg." She cheered herself on. But her tone was still as flat as ever. Carefully she placed her hands onto the swollen purple bump where Feitan had stepped on her leg. Unlike her arm injuries, this one was far more serious and needed more attention.

She added force and the bones slipped back into place; the snap was louder than both her arms combined.

Machi frowned. "You know how to set broken bones?"

"What? Did you think that I don't?" Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "When I was still a trainee under the Mafia, they used to break my arms just to teach me how to set it. I'm a pro at this mind you."

"My, seems like you lived a hard life too." Shalnark looked sympathetic.

"Curse my rotten life." She sighed. "First I was given to the Mafia by the City elders, and then I had to go through the trainee days. And when I thought that I could finally get a rest after graduating, I got hooked up with you guys! If I knew that I'd get tangled up with the Genei Ryodan, I wouldn't have accepted that case."

"Oh c'mon!" Shalnark said. "We're not going to hurt you any soon alright? You're safe until Danchou finally make up his mind of what to do with you."

Mizutsuki shot a glance at Machi and the kunoichi looked back. Shalnark looked from one to the other. "Friends already?" He said in a joking matter.

Machi shrugged. "More or less."

"Probably."

They were lying; they knew that they were not friends but nor were they enemies. They both held a grudging respect for each other. If their relationship wasn't _guard_ and _prisoner_ now, they would probably have some friendship going on.

Shalnark facepalmed deeply inside. _This is going to be tiring_. He thought.

* * *

The Painting-Retrieving team zigzagged through the crowds of people; the rain was hard on their umbrellas.

* * *

**I'm not sure what I'm writing anymore, I just wanted to write about how Mizutsuki interacts with the other Ryodan members. You already seen her with Feitan and Phinks; let's just say they're not the best of friends. And now here we have Machi and Shalnark! The three of them are all 19 at this point, perhaps being in the same age group would help their relationship...? ****The plot twist needs a lot of time to built up structure and atmosphere. So yes! You'll have to listen to my rambling for quite a few chapters before the exciting twist comes!**

**crowd:*Throws tomatoes* **

**Argh! All right! I'll try to get to the twist and climax as soon as possible! But that doesn't mean that I'll leave out scenes I want to write!**

**crowd: BOOOO**

**What? You want me to get to the climax soon, with colorful writing skills and amusing scenes, and with a sudden plot twist that will for sure surprise the hell out of you? Don't be ridiculous! How can a rookie author like me write with such skills? Only authors like JK Rowling can write like that.**

**crowd: BOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Ugh, never mind, as bad as a author as I am, I'll try to satisfy my readers as best as I can! (If I do have readers. I do right? right...?) **

**REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW! (or die a painful death! rawr!)**


	7. Chapter 7

"Hmm, I can't wait to find the painting!" Uvogin said happily.

Coltopi looked up at the samurai. "Why?" He asked in his quiet voice; if it wasn't for the members' excellent hearing, his voice would have been lost in the sound of the rain.

"That girl is strong; I'm interested in fighting her."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Uvo, have you forgot that her nen ability cannot work on Meteor City residents? That includes us as well."

Uvogin gasped – he had clearly forgotten about this. "What?" He whined. "C'mon, she wouldn't be that petty right? It's just a fight!"

"That would cost her her nen abilities." Bonolenov added.

"Damn…" Uvogin sighed. "I wanna see if my aura can guard acid as well."

"I'll bet a ten hundred Jennies that you can, Uvogin." Nobunaga cracked his neck. "But that bitch melted my sword; I'll have to sharpen it… don't she know how troublesome sharpening a sword is?"

"She obviously doesn't." Franklin supplied. "Now will you shut up Nobunaga? My ears are bleeding over your thoughts on your beloved sword."

"Oh yeah? That's a pity for you that you do not understand the beauty of swords."

"Nobunaga…!"

"Both of you can shut your mouths." Uvogin growled and his killing aura reeked out.

Pakunoda shot them all a death glare, with the exception of Coltopi and Bonolenov, who were nice and quiet. The three men cowered at her ice cold gaze. She was one of the core members of the Ryodan. They all knew that subconsciously they should follow her orders. Besides, she was the one who held the positions of where the painting is hidden now.

"Pakunoda," Coltopi saved the day by breaking the awkward silence. "We're almost there, isn't it about time you give us the map of where she hid the painting?"

Pakunoda looked back onto the road and nodded; the three men sighed in relief. The revolver appeared in her hands and between her fingers she conjured five memory bombs. The six of them reached the edge of the raining city and she shot the memory bullets into the head of her companions.

"Hmm," Bonolenov looked around. "So I suppose that it's somewhere on the other side?" He started to walk up the hill.

Coltopi followed behind the mummy and Pakunoda decided to take another route. She turned left and walked over to the other side slowly with her own pace. Franklin decided to follow her while Uvogin and Nobunaga took the right path. So one group was going over the hill, one group was circling around the right and one was going around the left. They'd meet again at the other side and this way they can locate the whereabouts of the painting more efficiently.

"Pakunoda, what do you think about the girl?" Franklin asked. "The fact that Danchou wants her to join."

Pakunoda shrugged. "Neutral. She's not shabby, but she is not getting along with members. If she did join, it would be a problem in our cooperation. But her ability is very convenient to break through stuff, quieter than Uvogin's punches or your nen bullets."

Franklin had already analyzed the situation in and out, from the POV of the Ryodan and the POV of Mizutsuki. "She was angry at Phinks and Feitan for killing her target, so she took our target for revenge and hid it here under a tree root. Phinks and Feitan do not like her at all, but they are still somewhat impressed of her skills. To locate the whereabouts of the painting, we had to track her down. Danchou was interested in her ability already, since she could actually keep up with the speed of Phinks and Feitan, not to mention defeat them and escape. But that Danchou had failed to steal her ability, and he still wants it, he wants to recruit her into the Ryodan. Our main goal is to retrieve the painting she took, but now we're all buzzing around Danchou's thoughts of recruiting her into the Ryodan. Some object and some are neutral; but we all know that she has the strength."

Pakunoda nodded slowly. "That is a great summary of the situation."

"But then she realized that is her nen ability actually harms us, she will lose it forever. But from what I observed, she had already burnt Feitan's hand once but it did not affect her. But that was because that at that time she did not know that he was from Meteor City. There are loopholes in her Vows."

"I see… What are you trying to say now Franklin?"

"Personally, I do not object the idea to let her become a member. Her ability puts her in the neutral position of all possible quarrels that may occur between members. And I'm talking about quarrels that flipping coins can't decide. However, the vow her nen abilities would become a burden for her is she does in fact join."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If we need her to kill, we'd need to let her have absolutely no information of our target victims. Otherwise she'd lose her ability and it'll be troublesome to just let her drop out."

"Her vow is troublesome indeed." Pakunoda agreed. "But that theory only qualifies if she do join. Say that all the members finally agreed on letting her join; but will she let herself join?"

"Probably; I doubt that she'd want to see what types of torture devices or murder ideas Feitan has up his sleeve."

"But her pride is a problem as well." Pakunoda said. "She's prideful and stubborn from what I read."

"She'd give in." Franklin said nonchalantly. "I have a hunch that she will."

"Huh..." Pakunoda nodded slowly. "So the biggest problem for her to join would be her vow still."

"Vows can be rewritten." Franklin said.

"I didn't know that, how? I thought that it was impossible."

"It is impossible to take back your original vow," The man stated. "But it is possible to _overwrite_ it with another vow."

Pakunoda nodded slowly. "I understand, if so, that problem can be solved..."

The two members of the Ryodan finished walking their half of the hill and finally met up with Uvogin and Nobunaga. "Did you guys find anything?" Uvogin asked.

Franklin shook his head. "Nothing, and seeing that you're asking this, did you guys not find anything either?"

Nobunaga nodded. "But we did cross a section where there seemed to be a minor landslide. We were worried that the the painting had been buried..."

"Hopefully that Bono and Coltopi have some good news." Uvogin sighed. "I don't wanna delay my fight with the girl."

"How many times do we have to say, she can't fight you!" Nobunaga facepalmed. "Besides, how long do you think that it'll take for both her arms and her leg to heal? Phinks and Feitan broke them so she can't escape right?"

"More like they broke it because they felt like it..." Came a timid voice from above. Coltopi slided down the hill. "Bono and I found nothing, and you guys?"

Pakunoda shook her head. "Nobunaga said that they encountered a section where a minor landslide seemed to have occurred. The painting is probably buried somewhere there then. We'll have to dig it out somehow."

"_What_?" Bonolenov whined. "What rotten luck we have."

"I'll run back to Danchou and report this." Coltopi volunteered. "The five of you start searching, maybe we missed something." With that said, he took off in the direction of the hideout.

* * *

"So you mean to tell me," Mizutsuki said slowly. "That the two of you are bored watching over me and that YOU ARE PLAYING FREAKING _CARDS_?"

Shalnark nodded with a smile. "Yep, there isn't much to do here anyway, and we know that you can't escape even if you tried. Therefore we're doing something to kill time with." Machi nodded as well, her eyes never leaving her hand of cards.

"Gosh..." Mizutsuki was out of words. She had decided, the Genei Ryodan was just a bunch of weirdos. Seriously, what kind of guards would play cards while on watch? If this was in the Mafia the boss would have shot their heads off already.

"Doubt!" Shalnark suddenly exclaimed. With a slight smirk Machi flipped over her card. "Nope, Shalnark, you suck at this game."

"Ehh," Shalnark shrugged. "I don't know why I suck though. But let's play another round..." He gathered up the cards and started to shuffle them.

Machi cracked her neck. "Might as well do." She muttered. "I guess your storytelling time is over too huh?"

"The Hunter Exams are exciting all right, but it's too complicated to tell a story about it."

"Pity; it was interesting."

"Hey, you two." Mizutsuki suddenly spoke up. "Can you guys do me a favor?"

Both Shalnark and Machi glanced at her, their expressions startled. "Yeah?" Shalnark said tentatively. "Is there something you want?"

"Yes, it's embarrassing to say, but can one of you fetch the box of cigarettes for me? It's in my pocket."

"You smoke?" Machi frowned.

"Yeah, got a undercover assassinating job once and my target was like the world pro at cigarettes and cigars... I had to smoke to get close to him."

Machi sighed, got up, and walked over to her. She pulled out the box of cigarettes, but instead of handing it to her, she tossed it to Shalnark who caught it easily. "Hey!" Mizutsuki exclaimed.

"Don't smoke," Machi said sternly. "You'll die young."

"The heck? You guys are going to kill me later or tomorrow anyways, what's the point?"

"As we've said before," Shalnark continued. "We will not kill you any soon if you behave. If you're lucky or that Danchou is in a good mood, we might even let you go. Besides, smoking is bad for your health and you're not a legal adult yet either. At least the Hunter sites say you're nineteen. _Are_ you nineteen?"

"Yeah..."

"Plus," Machi added. "It smells bad."

Mizutsuki scowled but she understood their point of view. "Fine." She huffed.

"I'll just hand this to Phinks when he gets back." Shalnark said with a glance at the small box. "He's an old smoker."

"The eyebrow-less pharaoh?" Mizutsuki said dully. "He smokes?"

"Yes, a few times a day. None of us like it very much but we don't complain. If you're going to pollute the hideout air too we'll snap." Machi crossed her arms with a firm scowl.

"Fine, fine," Mizutsuki sighed. "Now you've said this, I don't wanna be as the same as Mr. No-Eyebrows either."

Shalnark looked frustrated. "Can you please stop calling us those rude nicknames?" He pleaded. "And you know, Phinks and Feitan don't like you any much either; plus they have a bad temper. You could die any moment if they hear it!"

"Face it, _Shalnark_." Mizutsuki deadpanned and exaggerated on his name. "You know it and admit it. Phinks have no eyebrows and Feitan is a shorty."

"Well yeah I admit..." Shalnark blushed. "But...!"

Machi jumped. "Phinks!" She exclaimed.

"I heard that, Shalnark..." Phinks growled from behind the door. Cold sweat slid down the blonde boy's cheeks. "Oh hey Phinks!" He waved. "I got a present for you!" He shoved the box of cigarettes into Phinks' hands and slowly backed away.

Phinks looked down at the box, paused, looked thoughtful, then sighed. "Considering that this is a very expensive and good brand , I'll let you go this time. Bring the prisoner over to the other room, Danchou wants to talk to her.

Both the Ryodan members tensed._ Is Danchou going to talk about the joining consequences to her already?_

Mizutsuki felt a cold chill down her spine. Her doom was here; the Genei Ryodan was going to kill her and dismember her corpse then feed it to sewer rats. She couldn't believe that her, Mizutsuki Shimo, was going to die in such a way. She always imagined her death like something going wrong in a mission or her target had superb body guards. Certainly not being killed by mad bandits angry at her for stealing their painting. But hey, they were the one who killed her target in the first place!

"I'm impressed," Mizutsuki said shakily as Machi pulled her up. "I was sure that I broke your leg, how can you still stand?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Phinks scowled and lighted a cigarette. "It's fucking hurts and you did break it."

"Then how are you still standing?"

"Skill, bitch, skill. I'm used to pain."

"That's weird, I'm used to it too, why can't I stand up too?"

"You're a chicken, that's why." Phinks snorted.

Mizutsuki glared. "Oh yeah? Fucking pharaoh. Let go of me Machi, I can walk by myself."

Machi shot Phinks an accusing glare and Shalnark looked worried. "Hey don't push yourself...!"

Mizutsuki had pushed Machi aside and was trying to stay balanced. But with her arms injured, it was hard for her. Nevertheless, she was standing; with a pale face and trembling all over.

Phinks look somewhat surprised that she managed. And then the expression turned impressed. "Did you set your leg yourself?"

"Who else? Idiot. I doubt that any one of you guys would care to give me medical attention."

"We would have, but then you'd escape."Said Machi.

"C'mon," Shalnark smiled. "We're not that bad, trust us a little more. We have no intention of killing you right now."

"What about Mr. Pharaoh and little Shorty next room?"

"At least you're using a better nickname for mr now..." Phinks muttered. "If given the opportunity and permission, I would be glad to kill you. But now you're injured, I don't like to fight when my opponent is at a serious disadvantage. It leaves a bad aftertaste and besides," He paused. "I like your spirit."

Mizutsuki blinked. "Are you feeling all right in the head Phinks?" She even used his name to call him. "I don't think that I hit you that hard..." Machi laughed. Machi laughing wasn't a often sight; this indicated how serious Phink's brain injury was to compliment her.

Phinks blushed and pointed at the door angrily. "Whatever!" He snapped. "Danchou wants to meet you so hurry the fuck up!" He stomped out of the room.

Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "Haha, stubborn Pharaoh..." She limped out of the door after him. Machi and Shalnark exchanged a glance and shrugged. If it was the tough spirit required for all Ryodan Members, she had it.

* * *

**Yes, I know that my story have a lot of paradoxes, but all the paradoxes would be explained along the story! I'm tired so review!**


	8. Chapter 8

She limped into the room and all the members looked up. They had the same surprised expression as Phinks that she could still walk. She glanced at Feitan, who was responsible for her broken leg. He stared back. There was an epic staring contest between the two until Coltopi cleared his throat. (If the contest had gone for a second longer WW3 would have broken out) Mizutsuki looked up and paused. "What is a fur-ball doing here?

Everyone stared at her. Coltopi blinked. "Pardon?" He asked.

"Your nickname." Feitan provided. "You are the Fur-ball, Shalnark is Blondie, Phinks is the eyebrow-less Pharaoh/Bastard, and I'm Shorty."

Mizutsuki didn't expect him to say all the nicknames out loud.

"Hey Feitan!" Shalnark said. "Don't promote your nickname like this, maybe one day she'll stop calling you that and we'll start calling you it."

Feitan scowled and she glanced at Coltopi. "What's your name, I don't think that we've met yet."

"I'm Coltopi."

"Ah, got that; but I'll just go by your real name I think. If possible, I wish that we never had to meet. Same with all you guys."

"That's my line..." Feitan muttered.

There was a loud snap of a book closing and she looked up to a corner she did not notice when she walked in. Mizutsuki's jaw popped open as she caught sight of Chrollo; all her memories of yesterday night rushed back into mind. "_You_?" She gasped. "You're their leader? The guy with the fucked up name?" She also remembered him as the guy with the weird name in the criminal files.

Chrollo nodded, ignoring her rude comment at his name. "Yes, how are you feeling now? I know that Feitan and Phinks haven't been very nice to you." He shot a glance at said members.

Mizutsuki glanced at them too. "Even if I did say that they are being mean, you wouldn't do anything right?"

"Who knows, that's hard to say."

Mizutsuki sighed deeply inside. This Danchou was… hard to understand.

"What about Machi and Shalnark?" Chrollo went on nonchalantly. His monotone was hiding everything, his thoughts and his emotions.

She glanced at her two guards; to her ultimate surprise their faces had turn stern and cloudy, like they were really afraid of their Danchou. "They're nice," She said slowly. "I hate all the Genei Ryodan, but I don't hate these two as much. I guess..." She wasn't sure why she said that either, helping her two guards.

Machi and Shalnark seemed to sigh in relief. Chrollo nodded. "That's nice to hear. Anyways," He leaned forward. "We have located the painting, however, a minor landslide had buried it and we cannot locate the approximate place. We need you to show us where you hid it."

"And if I refuse?" She poked.

"I'll interrogate you." Feitan said and turned to Chrollo. "Danchou, she won't point out where the painting just by us asking her. Let me do the job." He was obviously thinking something else; interrogating was just an excuse. His true purpose was to strap her onto a chair and peel off her fingernails.

Mizutsuki felt a shiver down her spine. Chrollo seemed to ponder at Feitan's suggestion and the alarm rang in her head.

"I'll tell!" She blurted out. "Being in the same room alone with Shorty with his torture tools is the last thing I wanna do!"

"Then we'll have no problem." Chrollo said. Every member of the Ryodan gawked at him; was it really smart to settle an important situation like this?

"Danchou!" Phinks protested. "She could lie for all we know."

"Pakunoda would tell." Chrollo stated calmly. "The important thing is how we can get her to the site before other unnecessary watchers and bystanders get there."

"It's in a rather quiet and abandoned place." Coltopi said. "Plus it's raining, I don't think that the citizens would notice any soon."

"Then we'd have no problem with that." Chrollo concluded. "Shalnark and Coltopi you two can take her there. And when you reach the place tell Bonolenov to come back now Shalnark is there."

Coltopi gave their leader a thumbs up and motioned for her and Shalnark to walk away with him. She flipped off Feitan as Shalnark closed the door behind them.

"Feitan would be disappointed." Coltopi said. "He really don't like you."

"I don't like him either. But you two seem nice, or as nice as bandits who are kidnapping me can be, Blondie and Fur-ball; uh no, Shalnark and Coltopi."

"I'm honored to hear you call us by our names." Shalnark grinned. "Coltopi, lead way!"

"I buried the painting, I wouldn't get lost even if you told me to..." Mizutsuki muttered as she slowly limped down the stairs, refusing help from her two companions so that she could scream 'In your face' at Phinks when she gets back. (As long as they don't decide to leave her dismembered in the wilderness.)

* * *

"So Paku and I were talking before, what are your thoughts on the girl who might become another one of us?" Franklin asked the other members.

Bonolenov shrugged. "Well, she's strong I suppose, managing to dodge attacks continuously from Machi, Paku, Nobunaga, and Uvogin . She failed at fighting Phinks but no one is strong enough to be his opponent anyways. She managed to kick away Shalnark's antenna before he stuck it in her right?"

"Yeah," Nobunaga crossed his arms."

"It's impressive to dodge the Big Bang Impact." Uvogin added. "Although I only used 10% of my strength. But then again, she was hungover so neither of us had the advantage."

"Her ability would be convenient alright," Nobunaga mused. "And it seems to have a wide range. But it's somehow similar to Feitan's ability don't you think? You cannot be within the attack range or its a sure death."

"Well?" Pakunoda deadpanned. "How many of you are agreeing to let her join? How many of you are disagreeing? Lets put neutral as disagreeing too."

The members exchanged a glance.

* * *

"So you're a licensed Hunter?" Mizutsuki asked Shalnark in disbelief. The blonde nodded proudly. "Yep!"

"I find it very hard to believe." She glanced at Coltopi. "This happy-go-lucky-always-smiling-Blondie?"

Coltopi nodded. "Nice adjectives."

"Hey Coltopi!" Shalnark protested. "Not you too!"

The tiniest member shrugged, his one visible blue eye looking innocent. "As rude as she is, she has a point. Truth is always bitter, and yes, Phinks really don't have eyebrows and Feitan is short. And you're blond."

Mizutsuki laughed. "I like you, Coltopi." She leaned down and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

Shalnark pouted. "What about you? A _Fur-ball_?"

Coltopi shrugged again. "We'll, I do admit that I need a haircut... But I'm lazy."

"Ehh," Mizutsuki made a face. "The Genei Ryodan are a bunch of weirdos."

The two Ryodan members stared at her. "You're weird too," Coltopi said. "Normally, no one would dare provoke Feitan and Phinks when they're already in a bad mood. Let alone give them rude nicknames."

"I was just telling the truth." She protested. "I'm not weird. I'm honest."

"Whatever you say.."

"Hey, I'm hungry." Shalnark suddenly spoke up, causing Mizutsuki to stare at him speechless yet again. On the other hand, Coltopi seemed completely fine. "Let's find a place to eat lunch."

"Sure, any good restaurants here?" Coltopi looked at her.

"Aren't your friends waiting...?"

"They won't die because we're late for a few minutes." Shalnark sang. "Although Uvo might get a bit pissed."

"And you say that you're not weirdos... Aren't you guys afraid of me escaping? I can go to the washroom and crawl out the window, or simply blend into the crowd using Zetsu or Rhythm Echo."

"You wouldn't." They said in unison, their backs were turned away from her but she was positive that there was a confident smirk in their faces. Plus their tone was extra calm. "Besides, we'd find you easily and Feitan would break your other leg."

"Tsk..." She scowled. _Yeah I won't, because I haven't screamed 'IN YOUR FACE' at that stupid pharaoh yet... Besides, I want a fair match with him, when I'm not hungover._

"Hey, what about Subway? I like the Turkey Sandwich there..." The two of the Ryodan members continued on happily at discussing their favorite Subway sandwich flavors. while walking into the merry restaurant. The cheerfulness seemed so wrong inside the building; it seemed almost impossible to find true cheerfulness inside Rivelle, the city of hypocrites and liars, which was always too rainy. It was as if signaling that something _bad_ would happen soon.

"You guys are being too nice to me to the point that you seem idiotic." She deadpanned as the two of the sat down with their food, looking happy like any other normal customers.

"Then do you want us to be bad to you?" Coltopi asked. "And if you don't want your coke I'll take it."

"Go ahead; I don't mean that, but if this was in the Mafia I'd be in the interrogation room bleeding to death now."

"Feitan don't need those toys to torture people." Shalnark said nonchalantly. "And now you've said this, I'm extremely worried for the Mafia."

"Why?"

"If they still need those toys to help them interrogate, how good can their trainees be? Are you one of a kind or average of the class?"

"I..." She paused and realized that he had a point. Her mouth suddenly became dry.

"Huh~" The two if them looked skeptical, but she knew that their expressions were just to provoke her. "Can we see how strong you are then?" They asked.

"_What_?"

"There are about twenty customers in this restaurant right now, in how many seconds can you kill them without using your nen ability?"

"The hell are you talking about?"

"Your killing speed." Coltopi translated. "No nen and unarmed."

"How much time would you guys take then?"

"About two seconds or less," Shalnark said thoughtfully. "But then again, you're injured."

"...Is this a dare?"

Coltopi nodded.

"You want me to show you guys how fast I can kill all these people unarmed and no nen? Are you fucking out of your minds? My boss would kill me! Not to mention I'd get my picture on the warrant as well. Open-house massacring in broad daylight is illegal mind you."

"Open-house in assassinating in broad daylight is illegal too. But isn't your assassinating style massacring too? On second thought."

"But I don't have a target either, I don't kill unless I get paid or have a reason."

"Huh~" Shalnark and Cortopi nodded, the mischevious grin was growing (She couldn't really see Coltopi's face, but she knew that it was there (But then again, who can see his face?). "Then we'll give you an assassinating case too."

"...What?"

"You take cases from people right? And now we'll give you a case as well." Cortopi pulled a ruby out of his sleeve and handed it to Shalnark, who slammed it onto the table. "This is your payment," He said. "And as for the reason... We want to see your strength! How's that?"

"You gotta be kidding me..." Mizutsuki facepalmed.

"Hey, you said that you'd only kill if you had pay and reason, now you have both. You can't chicken out now."

_You can't think normally with these guys..._ She thought and snatched the jem away, tossing it into the trash can behind her. "You guys are bandits, that's probably forged."

Shalnark pouted and Coltopi nodded. "Yep, it's forged." "Hey c'mon! Don't be so petty."

"But can you guys trust me?" She asked. "My rule is to kill everyone inside the same building as my target. If you guys don't want to get killed, you'll have to stand outside. I'd have no problem walking out the back door and escaping."

"Sure, we'll trust you." Shalnark shrugged and stood up. Coltopi followed. "We know that you wouldn't leave us, We'll start timing the second we close the door. Okay?"

"Wait, you're serious?" Mizutsuki felt a wave of panic. "You're kidding me right?"

"No we're not!" Coltopi said as he stepped out the door.

_Those people... Are insane...!_ And what the heck were they talking about? She would be more than glad to leave them, much less finish killing all the customers and opening the door to let them chain her up again. Yes, as soon as they close the door she can make way to the back door and sneak out. Woo-Hoo freedom!

The door closed behind them; but two seconds later she found herself stepping over bloody corpses and opening the door to meet the Ryodan members. _Why... did I not leave...?_ She thought to herself, her thoughts had become robotic and she was unsure of what she just did. Did she seriously just masscared a restaurant full of customers in broad daylight, just because two of her kidnappers _dared_ her?

Coltopi and Shalnark clapped. "That was quick." They said, sounding impressed.

Seems like she did.

* * *

Uvogin roared and punched a nearby building, crushing the walls. "WHAT IS TAKING THEM SO LONG...?"

They had been late for over an hour and the others weren't very happy about it.

* * *

**I'm very sorry for dragging the update. But hey, my eye injury is still recovering and even as I'm typing this I'm wearing a freaking eyepatch and sunglasses! (Sunglasses indoors, ha ha... but the computer's light is too bright for me even at it's darkest so yeah) So for the sake of my injured left eye please review! (wut)**


	9. Chapter 9

"Sorry we're late!" Shalnark put on his bright smile. So bright to the point that it felt wrong to scold him. On the other hand Coltopi's expression was casual (Not that anyone could actually see his face) and Mizutsuki's expression was exhaustion. It was tiring walking with Ryodan members, since you cannot think like normal people when you're with them.

The muscular Tarzan, whom the two of them introduced as Uvogin, scowled upon seeing Shalnark's bright smile. "...Don't be late again..." He managed in the end.

"Exactly _what_ is Blondie's ability?" Mizutsuki deadpanned. "Manipulating people with weird catlike antennas, or smiling so harmless it feels wrong to beat him up?"

"Well, he is so far the youngest in the Ryodan, as smart and core-member as he is; we cannot beat up our maknae. Besides, fighting is not allowed in the Ryodan anyway and he rarely pisses anyone off." Coltopi nodded to Bonolenov the mummy. "Danchou called you back."

"Ahh damn." Bonolenov sighed and hurried away.

Mizutsuki looked back at Bonolenov as he ran away. "That's Bono?"

"Yup," Nobunaga nodded. "And you're...?"

"Oh please, Mr. Samurai," Mizutsuki said in with a roll of her eyes. "You knocked me out earlier this day, don't tell me that you forgot already."

"Hmm..."

"Oy Nobunaga, don't mess with her." Said Franklin. Mizutsuki waved. "Hello, you're Franklin, correct?"

"Yes, it's nice of you to remember."

"It's nothing," She shrugged. "Blondi-uh, no, Shalnark and Coltopi gave me some homework to do while walking here."

"What took you so long anyway?" Pakunoda asked. Her deep voice sounded like a queen with absolute power. Mizutsuki felt like the frog that ate the Red Queen's pie, nervous. Pakunoda wasn't an important member for no reason.

"Oh that?" Shalnark said. "We went to Subway for lunch, but we didn't take very long because Mizu-chan here killed all the customers."

"AHAHAHAHA HE'S JOKING! HE'S JOKING!" Mizutsuki slammed her hand over Shalnark's mouth and gave him a death glare.

Shalnark rolled his eyes. "What's wrong about telling them why we're late?" He asked in a whisper and pushed aside her hand.

"Ha-ha, very funny Shal," She hissed. "_Everything_. You can say that we went for lunch, but leave out the massacre part. And what the hell was the Mizu-chan thing?"

"Why can't I say that you killed the customers?"

"Because it feels wrong."

"Uhh..."

Coltopi shot them a weird glance, as if saying: _Is there something wrong with your heads? _"We dared her into massacring all the Subway customers. Later the crowd gathered and we had to take the long route."

"...You _what_?" The others gawked at them.

"We just wanted to see how strong she was," Shalnark pushed pass her. "And we weren't disappointed! She killed about twenty customers in two seconds."

"I'm gonna murder you..." Mizutsuki scowled. She wasn't sure why she was so obedient with them, but this was something she didn't want others to know before she figured out why.

"Aww don't be shy," Uvogin teased. "That's still something. Now, let's get the job done. Where did you hide the painting?"

Mizutsuki blinked and realized that they were here for the painting; she had almost forgotten that. "Promise me one thing," she said.

"What?"

"When you find the painting, don't leave me dismembered out here..."

The members of the Genei Ryodan exchanged a glance then nodded. "Of course we won't." Shalnark said. "We can guarantee on that."

Somehow, she had almost forgotten that they were bandits and they had kidnapped her. If it wasn't for the pain of her broken arms and legs she would have really forgotten the fact. She knew that she must stay on opposing sides with them; but they somehow felt... familiar. Like she was back at home in Meteor City. She was trying hard not to fall into the trap.

"Well," She sighed. "I guess that I'll show you where the painting is, because it's the smart move now. I don't want Shorty coming over to interrogate..." She walked along the muddy path, scanning every fallen tree and branch. She sometimes picked up pebbles to examine them, but then tossing them away. (The members could swear that when she did so she was always aiming at Nobunaga.)

After a long while of endless walking she stopped and pointed. "It's somewhere here," She said. "The landslide may have washed it away but it can't be far."

"That's enough," Pakunoda nodded. "Nobunaga?"

The samurai cracked his neck. "Fine... Use _En_ to look right?"

Mizutsuki was slightly impressed.

Uvogin stretched. "Let's buy some beer to celebrate on the way back. I'm sure that Danchou would be pleased that we've collected the painting."

"Good idea!" The others nodded.

Coltopi pointed at a nearby fallen tree trunk. "Let's wait there while they work."

"Um, sure...?"

Yeah right, Coltopi was barely half her height; you couldn't expect that a tiny guy like him to do such heavy work right?

"Do you really hate us?" He asked out of the blue.

Mizutsuki jumped. "What?"

"Do you hate the Ryodan to the point that you want all of us killed?" Coltopi repeated.

"I wouldn't put it that way..." She scratched her cheek and felt a blush forming. It was about four o'clock and raining cats and dogs.

"Then what way are you putting it?"

"Ehh..." She stared into Coltopi's bright blue eye. "I don't know how I should put this... Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course."

"The Genei Ryodan originated from Meteor City right? And it was about the same time I was given to the Mafia. I feel at home with you guys."

_The hell am I talking about? Shut your big mouth Mizutsuki! You can't be honest with these people! They could kill you any moment if you say just one thing wrong! No need to tell them how you feel, everything you say could be used against you later! Don't give them anything to hold on to!_

As much as she was struggling inside, her mouth didn't stop talking. And she silently cursed herself.

"Were you really being honest?" Coltopi asked, his tone was slightly surprised. Yeah, an experienced killer like him should be able to detect any ripple of emotions of anyone. And her speech just now was soaked with emotions; for the junkyard city she called home and how these people reminded her of it.

"Yeah; but allow me to change one tiny thing."

"What?"

"I'd still be glad to beat up Phinks and Feitan when given the chance."

"I'm sure that they'd be glad to beat you up as well." Came a third voice. Pakunoda sat down beside them. "I heard your conversation."

_Oh shit..._ Mizutsuki thought grimly. Pakunoda was the Ice Queen; she had decided her nickname. You cannot hide anything before her. Pakunoda touched her head and she knew instantly that she was reading her memories and thoughts. She felt a chill down her spine. Although she had just poured her insides out, she was debating and calling herself an idiot inside. What will Pakunoda think of this paradox of the century?

"I see..." Pakunoda said slowly and took back her hand. "You were telling the truth, yet you still don't trust us."

"Who would trust you?" Mizutsuki muttered. "You guys are freaking class A criminals. I'm not stupid."

"Who was the one that spilled out all her true thoughts?"

"..."

Pakunoda crossed her arms. "From what I observed and read from you. You are normally a calm individual who is good at analyzing situations. But in our case, you cannot act like your normal self because we do not cat like normal people either. Thus we are from Meteor City so your nen ability cannot work on us. This made you panic and started to lose yourself and your cool. But you still have the common sense that we are enemies; yet you cannot stop yourself from seeing the shadows of Meteor City from us. Therefore you cannot keep any secrets to us."

Mizutsuki stared into her ice cold eyes. _This woman..._

"Pakunoda! Coltopi! A little help here!" Nobunaga called.

The two Ryodan members immediately walked over to the digging site. "What's the problem?"

"It's troublesome; a big boulder is lying on top of the painting and we can't think of an idea that could get it off without damaging the painting itself."

"The painting is protected by nen, what's the problem?" Coltopi frowned. "Just get Uvogin to punch the boulder once."

"Nen can only guard so much. And the painting is very old now, so the nen isn't as strong. Uvogin, Nobunaga, and Franklin's abilities won't work here. They'd damage the painting." Shalnark explained.

"So what do you expect us to do?" Pakunoda asked.

"If we want to retrieve the painting in one piece, we can only lift up the whole boulder. So now we have to dig up the rest of the boulder then lift it."

"Sounds troublesome..." Coltopi sighed.

"But it's the only way; we want to get the painting out as soon as possible right? Unless someone can manipulate their nen into slowly breaking apart the boulder and can time when to stop..."

As soon as the two of them left, Mizutsuki felt a wave of glee. _Yes! None of the Ryodan members are beside me now. Our distance is twenty meters, and the busy street is just behind this hill... It'll work, I can escape this way. If I can just get a 0.7 second head start before they notice..._

She had the plan all formed and calculated out in her head. But when she tried to move her legs, she couldn't. "Ugh what the heck?" She whined. As much as she hated to admit it. It felt wrong to leave them. Why? She'd kill to know why. "I'm so fucking useless..." She moaned. "Why can't I escape when there's a chance right in front of me...?"

She cursed herself a few more times and Pakunoda's words rand in her mind. It made her feel even more useless. The Ryodan members seemed to be arguing over something. She cannot make it out over the sound of the rain. But it's probably something like: "How stupid is she not to escape when we are leaving so many gaps open?"

She stood up abruptly and stomped over. How dare they talk behind her back...! She was sure that their conversation was something like that, yet it was on an entirely different topic.

The Ryodan members looked up at her in surprise. "What are you doing here?" Nobunaga frowned.

Mizutsuki crossed her arms. "Okay, listen here, Mr. Samurai. You may think that I'm stupid for not escaping when I had the chance. But tell you this, if my arms and legs weren't freaking broken I could finish off ten of you at once...!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" It took a second for her to realize that she had thought their conversation wrong. She felt the burning red hue crawling up her face. _Today's not my lucky day…_

On the other hand, Shalnark seemed to have thought of an idea. "I know! Hey Mizu-cha(insert death glare from Mizutsuki here), uh Mizutsuki, you can transmute your aura into acid right?"

She nodded bluntly. "Yeah. So what?"

"We need to push aside this big boulder to get to the painting. But all our nen abilities might harm it. Can you melt this rock to the point that it we can break it without damaging the painting?"

"Is this a challenge?" She asked flatly.

"No, it's a request. Please?" His innocent smile seemed to brighten up the rainy sky. Was this guy really a licensed Hunter and a class A criminal? Mizutsuki felt herself blushing. "Ugh fine..." She tried to wipe away her blush. "Just... Just whatever... Don't smile so innocent at me!"

Uvogin laughed. "Did you seriously just blush at Shalnark?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Who would blush at this stupid Blondie?" She slammed her fist onto the boulder and instantly it started to melt. The other members stepped back cautiously of the dripping acid. Mizutsuki's body was protected by her own aura so she stood unaffected under the raining acid and melted boulder.

The boulder was melted to the point that it was a U shape. With the bottom of the U only two centimeters thick. Ridiculous to be honest. Uvogin then cracked his knuckles and gave the thinnest part a chop.

The boulder that had gave them so much trouble shattered and under it was a crushed and overturned tree. They quickly dug under the tree and pulled out the painting.

With anxious written on their faces they checked the contents. They sighed in relief and gave each other fist bumps. "Hell yeah, beer party tonight!"

"Can I go now...?" Mizutsuki whined. "You've got your painting, why can't you let me go? I promise that we'll never meet again. Really!"

The members exchanged a glance, some of the rolled their eyes. Nobunaga walked over to her and threw her over his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous," He said. "We're far from done with you."

The other members nodded in agreement and they started walking back towards their hideout.

"HUH? The hell are you talking about? Freaking samurai put me down!"

"Calm down." Coltopi said. "Just wait for another few hours okay? Then we'll let you go."

"LIKE HELL I'LL BELIEVE YOU! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!"

"Chill, Mizutsuki, we won't hurt you or anything." Shalnark shrugged. "We're just...inviting you to the beer party!"

"Oh yeah? Then what the hell was that hesitation in the middle of your sentence?"

"What are you talking about? There was no hesitation in my sentence."

Franklin laughed dryly. "Maybe being the same age does improve your relationships..."

"As if..." Mizutsuki muttered and Shalnark smiled. "Dammit..."

* * *

**I'm sorry that these characters are a bit OOC, but I'm trying to capture their characteristics as much as possible. And you know, Shalnark is such a nice character +(OwO)b. Easy enough to write I guess, because I think that he's just a normal, friendly person who likes to kill people! Out of all the Ryodan members, I think that he's the one easiest to make friends with people. So yeah, I know that he may be a bit (?) OOC as well, but when the story gets on track , he'll be back to normal, I swear. ****(Yes, it's not on track yet, all these rubbish is just the intro.)**

**And btw, I think that I'll make this into a medium-long story with a few arcs; with three or four chapters each arc. And guess what, I'm going to write the Kurta massacre as one of the arcs as well (whether you like it or not :P)**

**Review and Favorite please!**


	10. Chapter 10

The customers shot them weird glances as they walked into the store to buy three crates of beer. Mizutsuki never felt so embarrassed; if there was a hole in the ground she would for sure dive into it and never come out. A hairy Tarzan, a Fur-ball, a Blondie, a tall woman, a Frankenstein, and a samurai with a famous assassin thrown over his shoulder; yes, the freak show is on.

"Put...me...down..." She gritted her teeth. Her face was boiling.

"There, there, aren't you an assassin? Didn't they teach you how to act natural?"

"How the hell is this natural? We could be the circus for all they know!"

Shalnark laughed. "That's mean."

"Oh dear lord... Can't I refuse your party invitation? You got the painting, Shorty and the Pharaoh had beaten me up. I'll forget that you guys killed my target too, please let me go."

"Noted and ignored." Nobunaga said nonchalantly.

Mizutsuki kicked him in the stomach but he didn't even flinch. "Damn abs..." She scowled. "Can't I talk to a more reasonable person other than Blondie?"

"I thought that you liked me?" Shalnark looked surprised.

"Yeah I do, out of all the Ryodan people; you're the nicest guy to talk to other than Fur-ball and Machi. But you're the last one on my list of... Don't give me that face!"

Shalnark, despite being nineteen and a class A criminal, still had the face of an innocent boy; he was the type that Mizutsuki cannot handle. Especially with the innocent face; she usually dealt with man over six foot four, muscular, with an unshaven beard, expensive cigar between lips, and have a bad attitude; in short, Mafia-like. Never people like him.

"Oh yes, perhaps like Franklin or Coltopi?" Nobunaga said sarcastically and Mizutsuki tried to kick him again. "Whoa there, kick me one more time I'll break your other leg."

"Okay, Coltopi, Franklin, because that I'm afraid of Shalnark's innocent face and I cannot stand talking to this stupid buffoon, I'll talk to you guys."

"Who do you mean stupid buffoon?" Nobunaga snapped.

Mizutsuki ignored him and left Nobunaga fuming.

"We aren't going to let you go still." Franklin deadpanned. "But I can say that there are more reasons we aren't letting you go. Though we won't tell you those reasons either." Coltopi nodded; it was ridiculous to see the two giants of the Ryodan walking side by side with the tiny Fur-ball.

Shalnark shrugged. "Don't blame me that I have this face. And speaking of faces, don't you have a lot too?"

"What?"

The blonde boy dug out a brown bag from his pocket and Mizutsuki instantly recognized it. "Where did you get that?" She asked in disbelief.

"Machi found it lying around your apartment," He replied nonchalantly and passed the brown bag to the others to look at.

"I'm gonna sue you guys for invading privacy…" The rightful owner of the bag hissed.

"Holy damn," Uvogin looked through the bag. "You have twenty-three different identities? And one…two…three… eleven different qualification certificates? Don't you think that it's a little too much for someone from Meteor City?"

Mizutsuki felt naked. "I can't help that either," She complained. "All the identities are fake, it's for my job. I'm just a nobody. My only one and real identity is the name Mizutsuki Shimo, and I gave it to myself long before I left Meteor City. And nine of the qualification certificates are forged; the only two true ones are the kendo and judo, which are under different forged identity names as well. But then again, the Pharaoh had already beaten me in martial arts. How're his sword skills?"

"He sucks at them, but Feitan is pro." Coltopi answered.

"Oh my gosh…" She facepalmed. "What's wrong with those two? Why do they like to oppose me in every way?"

"Who knows? You're just born enemies maybe." Franklin said. "But they're really trustworthy when it comes to missions. You're not in the Ryodan so you don't know."

"Well I guess I'll never know," She sighed. "Because an hour later I'd either be dead or I'd be back home celebrating I'm finally done with you guys."

There was a moment of silence between the Ryodan members; it took her a few seconds to realize and when she was about to ask why they had become so silent, Pakunoda spoke.

"Then would you join us if given the chance?"

…

_Silence_.

It was as if someone had dug a grave for Noise and buried the coffin six foot deep with a gravestone carved RIP.

None of the seven people spoke; Mizutsuki just stared at Pakunoda, her jaws hanging open in disbelief.

"You're…kidding me right? Pakunoda, I didn't take you for the joking type… hahaha… This is not funny at all…"

"She's dead serious," Franklin said suddenly. "Dammit Pakunoda, that was supposed to be a secret…"

"If she's gonna waste Danchou's time debating whether to join, it's better if we just asked her here. We'll kill her if she wastes our time and Danchou's time."

"Ehh, somehow that makes sense too…" Uvogin scratched his chin.

"Wait, wait…" Mizutsuki managed a shaken laugh. "You aren't serious right? You want me in the Genei Ryodan? I was right, you guys are just a bunch of people whose heads aren't normal… You're all crazy…"

"Mizutsuki," Shalnark looked stern; to Mizutsuki's absolute surprise. _So he _can_ look serious_. "We are not joking. We are very seriously considering to let you join the Ryodan."

"…You…!" Mizutsuki felt hollow.

"Well, it's not for another twenty minutes until we get to the hideout, let her think until then. When Danchou asks you answer immediately, don't waste Danchou's time." Franklin said.

"But this is ridiculous!" Mizutsuki exclaimed; she noticed the fact that being carried over a certain samurai's shoulder made her seem weaker than usual. "You guys are treating me like some stupid trash bug now, and telling me not to waste Chrollo's time. But you want me to join? Why do your actions always paradox with your words?"

"That's a stupid question." Coltopi answered. "The reason why we're treating you like trash is because that you are not a member of the Ryodan. Although we still hold some respect for you of your abilities, we do not bow down to others who aren't Ryodan members."

"…What the hell is wrong with your logic?"

"It's the Ryodan logic." Nobunaga supplied. "Hurry up and make up your mind, you have barely twenty minutes left."

Mizutsuki scowled and went quiet, going into her mind palace to think of their invitation.

_Why the hell are they asking me this? Are they serious? Dear lord god, they're all crazy!_ She felt a shiver down her spine. _But_… She felt a ripple of hesitation in her heart. _No, no, no, don't let your thoughts go there Mizutsuki. That's the danger zone, don't go there…_

_Why? Why am I seeing the shadow of Meteor City from them? Why do these class A criminals remind me so much of home?_

She had never considered the Mafia training base as her home although she spent half her life there. She was seven when the City Elders gave her away to the Mafia. From then until she was fifteen she had taken training of assassinating arts. After she graduated she was pushed out of the building and told that since she wasn't a trainee anymore, the Mafia would not help her nor support her in any way. She had to make a living on her own and mandatorily answer to all the assassinating calls from the Mafia when received them.

To be honest, she hated her job and she hated the Mafia that had taken her away from home. Living inside the town of Liars and Hypocrites, she realized that despite the fact Meteor City was a junkyard, it was much better than this outer world. It may be dirty and messy there, but everyone was nice and all the citizens were bonded together like a family. Unlike this clean place where everyone is a liar.

The weird bonds between the Genei Ryodan, was it the same as the bonds between citizens of Meteor City as well? Was it because of the bonds between citizens that she cannot leave them even when given the chance?

"You're serious right?" She asked again.

"Yes we are, and why did you change your asking style? '_You're not serious right?_' to '_You're serious right?_'" Nobunaga glanced back at her.

"Can't you focus your attention on something else?" Mizutsuki chided and reached forward. Nobunaga gasped and grabbed her torso. "Hey where are you going?" He exclaimed.

Mizutsuki reached the crate of Beer Franklin was carrying and pulled out a can. Popping it open she started to drink. "Nothing, just getting a drink before I face my presumable death."

"So you're refusing?" Pakunoda asked skeptically.

"No, I didn't say that. Besides, who knows what you guys are planning now? You might just be kidding me and you'd kill me either way I answer. Just…" She chugged down the slightly bitter liquid. "If you guys seriously mean it, I need to think. I drink to clear off my thoughts alright? Right now I'm goddamn frustrated and it's all you guys' fault. So don't yell at me for drinking."

"I thought that beer gets your thoughts blurry." Coltopi said.

"It does, but that short period of time before I get completely drunk, I can let go of all the worries that is blocking my thinking and focus on important things."

"You're a rotten drinker as far as I know." Uvogin said. "When I first saw you, you were completely wasted; scared the half of us out of our minds to see Danchou dragging you back in."

"Excuse me, I know what I'm doing here, and if I really get drunken just get Shorty to snap my other leg."

"Actually, Feitan would snap your leg either way, dead or not." Shalnark's cheerfulness made her wonder if he was actually worried for her or just viewing everything as a joke. She think that it was the second one.

"Think carefully before you say your answer." Franklin said.

Mizutsuki didn't answer; instead she chugged down more beer. She didn't even need to think, the answer was damn obvious. Drinking beer was just to blur her thoughts when the time comes; so that she wouldn't regret her decision.

* * *

"What the heck, you let her drink?" Phinks exclaimed as Nobunaga threw the unfocused assassin onto the hideout floor. "You know how rotten of a drinker she is!"

"She told us not to worry, and that only one can wouldn't harm." Coltopi waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello, we're here."

Mizutsuki blinked once, twice. "Fur…ball…" she managed to say. "Are we already back...?"

"Are you sure this'll work?" Feitan deadpanned. "Exactly _what_ were you guys thinking? Letting her drink at such an important time?"

"She said that if by then she isn't focused, you can snap her other leg." Pakunoda said calmly.

"Really?" Feitan sounded mildly surprised. "Whatever, I'd be glad to." He raised his feet and was about to snap her other leg when Mizutsuki snapped back to reality. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," She said, putting distance between them. "Hold on, that was just a joke, can't you guys tell between being serious and jokes?"

"You said that yourself," Nobunaga shrugged. "And you didn't say that it was a joke."

"Dear lord god… whatever, I don't want to be the psychiatrist for the Genei Ryodan." She stood up wobbly and rested against the wall. "Ha-ha, seems like I can't scream 'In your face' at Pharaoh now…"

"The hell are you talking about?" Phinks frowned.

"She was saying that if by the time she comes back she could walk with a broken leg normally she's gonna scream 'In your face' at your face." Shalnark explained.

Phinks rolled his eyes. "What are you? A three year old?"

"Don't call me a three year old, stupid Pharaoh…" Mizutsuki scowled.

"I think that the alcohol is working," Machi whispered to Bonolenov. "She's not showing any signs of nervousness."

"That's good in a sense I suppose," Bonolenov answered back. "Because the question Danchou prepared would probably scare her out of her wits…"

Mizutsuki was prepared. She knew that even if she was going to die, she had nothing to complain about. And once you've gotten used to the idea of dying, there was nothing to fear. But aren't these people dancing side by side with the risk of death every day? That's what made them so different; they had already acknowledged the presence of death beside them and were ready to embrace it anytime. They are living a regretless yet thrilling life, these bandits… They sure do know how to live.

Chrollo snapped his book shut and stood up, staring down at her with emotionless eyes. The whole Ryodan quieted down and turned to fix their gaze on their leader. Mizutsuki looked up as well; with the alcohol running in her veins and her mind made up, she had nothing to fear, no matter what the outcome of the situation is.

"I suppose that Pakunoda had told you already," Said Chrollo calmly.

Mizutsuki nodded. "Yep, they told me."

"I'll leave out the long, pointless babbling then and get to the point." Chrollo stuck his hands into his pockets; his pressuring atmosphere of leader was heavy upon her. "Do you join, or not?"

Mizutsuki was silent for a second; the voice of the tiny angel on her shoulder screamed _NO_ one last time. The devil on her other shoulder then powered over the angel and she spoke. "I join."

* * *

**Finally, the long, boring intro (Yep, these ten chapters are _just_ the intro) is done and we can get into the story arcs. So far I'm planning to write three arcs ****(T****he Kurta clan massacre being one of them)****with about 9-12 chapters in total **_**. **_**Mizutsuki finally agreed to join, and she shall explain her reason for joining next chapter. And Chrollo would immediately assign her a mission; that mission shall be the first actual story arc. What mission would it be? Favorite or Follow to see~**

**(Don't forget to review!)**


	11. Chapter 11

"Very well," Chrollo nodded. "Everybody, let's welcome our new member, number eight."

Everyone stared at her, there were no signs of welcoming, but there were no signs of detesting too. Apart from Feitan and Phinks, whom clearly were unhappy about her joining. The atmosphere had gotten comfier as well.

"What made you decide to join?" Chrollo asked.

Mizutsuki shrugged. "It was simple, the options you guys gave me was _join or die_."

"No, you have thought much more than just these two options, otherwise you wouldn't be standing in the middle if us so calm. You've made up your mind on something that exists in the deeper level of mind. What is it?"

"Danchou," She said, amazed to feel how _right_ that sounded. "I was just curious; to why I was not able to run away from you guys even when I was given the chance. I had the escape plan all formed out in my head, but when I was ready, something inside me told me that I cannot leave. Same when Shalnark and Coltopi dared me into massacring all the customers of the restaurant. I had the chance to leave, my head told me to yet my body refused. I was just curious why and I want to find out."

Chrollo nodded. "So have you had an idea yet?"

"Yep."

"What is the idea?"

"The bonds of the Ryūseigai, the people of Ryūseigai have a strong tie to each other and extreme ways of thinking about reciprocity and justice. Because they accept anything that the rest of the world threw away, they do not allow anything to be taken back from them. I am from Ryūseigai too, and I think that it is because that we all share the bonds of citizens that I cannot leave. My reason is naive and stupid, but that is my reason of staying. I haven't met any people of Ryūseigai in years, and you guys remind me of home."

Chrollo nodded. "I like your reason; every one of the Phantom Troupe is a member that joined searching for a deeper cause either good or bad. These causes are why there would never be betrayal inside the Ryodan. Your reason is not stupid; it is the same as any others."

"Thank you Danchou."

Franklin spoke up. "Now that you've joined, there is something you must do."

"I can guess," Mizutsuki sighed deeply. "I will have to overwrite my Vow with another vow."

"Ahh yes, the Vows and Limitations that gave boost to your ability. I almost forgot." Chrollo said. "What was your previous vow?"

"If I harm anyone that originated from Meteor City, I'd lose my nen ability permanently."

"There are loops in your vow," Pakunoda said. "Because when you and Feitan first met, you had already burnt his hand. So more accurately, your vow only applies to people whom you think are from Meteor City. And it does not apply when you don't know where they're from."

"Yeah, I noticed that." She turned to Chrollo. "Danchou, what should my new vow be?"

"You cannot change it too much, the qualities of the first vow must apply to the second as well, but if you just narrowed the list of people you cannot hurt to the Ryodan, your strength would drop." Chrollo's gaze was piercing. "You know what to do."

Mizutsuki felt a shiver down her spine and the cold, pressured feel stayed there. Chrollo wasn't their Danchou for nothing. "Yeah, I understand; apply the second vow to _'I can harm anyone _but_ the Genei Ryodan, if I do harm the Ryodan members, I will die.'_" She smiled grimly. "Sounds fair enough."

"Fantastic, Machi."

Machi pulled a black envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Mizutsuki. Immediately Mizutsuki's eyes widened. "This is..."

"What is that?" Uvogin asked.

Nobunaga shrugged. "No idea."

"It is the mandatory meeting call of the Mafia to all their assassins and members. _The Carnivorous Carnival_. Whenever received this meeting call, all members of the Mafia must be at the appointed meeting place in person. This arrived at the perfect time." Chrollo jumped down from his seat above the others. "I have put my trust in you, and so should the other members of the Ryodan; however we are resorting to being careful until you get your tattoo; since the way you joined is different from others. To prove your loyalty, your strength, and your vow, you will attend this meeting and kill all the people that was there."

"The whole Camorra Mafia you mean...?"

"Camorra?" Phinks echoed. "What is that?"

"The name of her Mafia company." Shalnark piped up. "The trained assassins of the Camorra Mafia use a set of codes called the WEEKDAY HAVOC for their missions. There's a code name for each day of the week and each of the days represent a certain type of activity for the assassins. Happy Sunday, Bloody Monday, Rainy Tuesday, Wrathful Wednesday, Merry Thursday, Greedy Friday, and Vengeful Saturday. The Carnivorous Carnival is the invitation's name. Am I right?"

If Mizutsuki wasn't busy being speechless by the contents of the Carnival Invitation, she would have been impressed. The codes of the Camorra Mafia assassins were very secret even among the Mafia itself, since the assassins handle the dirtiest jobs.

"Huh~ So what is on the Invitation?" Machi raised an eyebrow. "What dirty jobs did you poor assassins receive this time?"

"The wipeout of the ten dons on this continent." She read out loud. "The Camorra leader wants to take throne of the Don on this continent."

"...What?" Uvogin frowned.

"It's like their Mafia group wants to overthrow the other Mafia group that is controlling this continent." Coltopi translated. "Stupid if you ask me."

"It's stupid if you ask me too." Mizutsuki muttered. "The leader of Camorra even offered me the place as Inju if the plan succeeded. The heck is that old jeezer thinking about?"

"Inju?"

"The Injū (Shadow Beasts) are a special group consisting of the 10 most powerful Nen users within the Mafia organizations in the world." Shalnark explained again. "Under the direct command of the Ten Dons, supreme leaders of the Mafia. Hushing from their positions, they should be very strong. If the Camorra family wants to fight against the current Don and Inju on this land, it's gonna be a tough fight."

"But hey, doesn't that mean the family leader already recognize her as the strongest nen user in the Mafia?" Bonolenov asked. "Great job. Pity he doesn't know that his strongest fighter had betrayed him already since she is now part of the Genei Ryodan."

"Thanks Bono," Mizutsuki smiled tiredly and continued to read. "The code name is Bloody Monday... That jeezer lost his marbles." Her last sentence was said in a serious yet dead, flat tone.

"What does Bloody Monday stand for?" Franklin asked.

"It means complete massacre." Mizutsuki said. "That old jeezer gathered up all the members of the Camorra Mafia and all the assassins and killers the Mafia has trained, just to perform a massacre upon the Don's Mafia so he can take over as Mafia king on this continent." She paused. "That was a lot of _Mafias_ in one sentence."

"It doesn't matter." Chrollo said. "Can you do what I told you to do?"

Mizutsuki stuck out her tongue. "Of course I can, Danchou."

"Machi, once she's done her job, give her the location of the hideouts and get her number tattooed." Chrollo nodded to the pink haired kunoichi. "The others can go back to their normal activities until we find our next target. Tonight we will celebrate the retrieval of The Pungency and welcome our new member."

Small cheers broke out between the members and Mizutsuki finally felt relieved, like letting a boulder off her shoulders.

But now she carried another boulder, her first mission in the Genei Ryodan, to prove her loyalty, strength, and vow. To massacre the Camorra Mafia that trained her and raised her.

To be honest, she was happy that Danchou assigned this as her first mission. Because deep down inside, she had wanted to do this for a long time, ever since they took her away from Meteor City. Perhaps joining the Ryodan would allow her a second life.

The members didn't waste time introducing themselves, because they know that she'd learn their abilities sooner or later. Plus they had centered their attention to the beer celebration.

"You know, last time we had a party, Nobunaga and Uvogin destroyed thirteen buildings." Bonolenov said, pointing at the two buddies.

"That's impressive." Mizutsuki nodded. "Can I call you Bono though? Because I think that your name is rather hard to pronounce."

"Go ahead, I don't mind." Bonolenov shrugged. "It's like that we call Shalnark Shal sometimes, but now thinking of it, we got a new maknae!"

"Oh dear," Mizutsuki groaned. "Don't remind me that I'm maknae. Machi could be maknae too, but she doesn't know her birthday date."

"Even though I could be younger than you," Machi said. "I'm one of the first members of the Ryodan."

"...Dammit."

Machi smirked.

"So?" Franklin asked. "What are you going to do about your first mission? Massacring the whole Camorra Mafia sounds like a hard job."

"What are you talking about?" Mizutsuki snorted. "It'll be easy enough. I know the strength of the Mafia members, only a few of them are good and the rest are only good at fighting with their mouths. My nen ability as well, I learned it with a second master. My first master training inside the Mafia family only taught the basics."

"You're making the Mafia sound horrible."

"They _are_, I'm not _making_ them sound horrible."

"What are you planning to do after you finish your job?" Machi asked. "We'll have to get your member number tattooed on, but then what?"

Mizutsuki shrugged. "I don't know, keep being an assassin for hire maybe? But then my face would be recognized as criminal instead of assassin..." She fell into deep thought of what she should do when the Job's over. You'd never know when Danchou's meeting call would come so you couldn't go so far. But then again she needed something to kill time with.

"Hey Shal," She called for the blonde boy. "Any fun activities you can kill time with?"

"Kill time...? About how many time do you want to kill?"

"As much as possible, something to do after the Camorra massacre thing is over."

"I'll think of something." He shrugged. "Or you can just hang out with people."

"What do you usually do?"

"It's hard to answer even if you asked... But I know that Feitan's an assassin of some sorts. The rest just steal what they want and live as they like."

"'Kay thanks." She nodded. "It's hard for me to imagine that this always smiling Blondie steal and kills for a living..." She glanced at Machi. Who was the second best person she liked in the Ryodan other than the Fur-ball Coltopi. (With the first being Shalnark.)

"Shalnark is a pro Hunter, so I guess that he sells fake info of the Ryodan for a living."

"Sounds convenient."

"It is." She said. "With that all our possible enemies would be misled, unless they somehow have a fortune teller that predicts the future."

"Fortune-telling would be a specialist right? Specialists are rare enough, much less Specialist fortune-tellers."

"Yeah right, perhaps we'd never meet one actual fortune-teller in our lives."

"Ditto."

"Which section of Meteor City did you come from?" Machi asked, seeming to pick up conversation with her.

"The South Part, you know, with the big metal ball right in the middle? Until today I don't know how that got there."

"Oh, I'm from the East part, and so are Paku, Franklin, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Feitan, and Danchou. I think that Coltopi is from the North part and Shalnark is from the West. Phinks is from the South too..." She tried to remember more. "Omokage is from the Central area, and that's about it."

"What about Bono?"

"He's from the Gyudondond tribe."

"Uhh... Never heard of it..."

"It's no big deal, just remember that never insult him or his tribe."

"He is a fellow member; I respect him and his tribe."

"Good; you seem to have gotten braver, you're not as nervous as when we first met."

Mizutsuki leaned against the wall and sighed. "It still feels unreal to be honest; since when did you guys started to hold a respect for me?"

"Since you dodged nearly all our attacks even though you were hungover."

"Yep, and yet you guys still treated me like trash because I'm not part of the Ryodan. I hated you guys from the start, but you and Shalnark were nice, and Coltopi is... Furry."

Machi frowned. "_What_?"

"I like furry stuff."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and he has a nice attitude. After that I started seeing the shadows of Meteor City between you guys and all of a sudden, I can't leave you."

Machi nodded. "You're a member now, even though you were opposing us before, once you've become a member you are a comrade of us."

"Thanks, Machi."

Machi seemed to smile as she lied down to go to sleep. The other members slowly dropped silent too and soon light snores could be heard. But she was positive that even though they were lying down, Feitan, Pakunoda, and Danchou were still awake.

She hadn't started to regret yet; somehow, she felt right at home.

* * *

**Ahaha, I actually wrote it out! Oh my god, I will not disappoint my readers! My plot twist would for sure satisfy you guys, and it will be close to the original story as well, just you wait and see. *winks*.**

**But now I'm terribly scared of one thing. It is that my story does not get much attention and would be slowly forgotten by my readers. I want my story to leave an impression on my readers. But due to my crappy intro, I doubt that anyone had actually gotten to the back where it starts to get better with plot. So please, Review and Favorite to tell people that this is not a crappy story. (I sure do hope it isn't... so PLEASE! I need support QAQ)**

**In the next chapter, the first story arc shall start officially! What will happen? If you're a true fan of this story, read on! If you want to see the Kurta clan massacre part, follow and favorite! If you want me to finish the story properly unlike Yoshihiro Togashi who left Hunter X Hunter hanging at a angering part, review! \(OwQ)/**


	12. Chapter 12

Earlier that morning, after the Ryodan had woken up from their party and gotten over their hangovers (Mizutsuki was amazed to see such recovering speed), they had said goodbye to each other and left in different directions. Some alone and some in pairs. Danchou had left mysteriously over the night so no one knew where he had gone.

Machi was the last to leave, and before tossing her bag over her shoulder she had tossed Mizutsuki a piece of rolled up paper. "Go there after you've completed you mission." She said. "And on the other side are our cellphone numbers."

"A class criminals have cellphones?"

"Not normal cellphones the public use, it's something Shalnark designed."

"Oh."

"Well then, see you."

"See you too."

Soon, the building was left with only Mizutsuki and the garbage left from yesterday's party. Fortunately Uvogin and Nobunaga didn't destroy any buildings, but there were some holes in the walls that she was positive wasn't there the other day. She was labeled _Worst Drinker_ by the Ryodan members.

"Is it okay to leave the garbage here?" She wondered out loud. If she leave them there, the building would be taken over by flies and roaches within a day. But the amount of garbage was too many to take down one at a time to the trash bin behind.

In the end she rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers; responding to her call her ability activated. The acid mist slowly melted everything to zero. _The smell should wear off by the next time we use here_... She thought. It was five a.m., and the Camorra at council starts at eleven.

Although it was called a 'war council' for every one of the Mafia, it was actually announced to the public as a 'party'. The leader wasn't giving them any choice. They were forced to go, and at the end of the party there would be a speech. Starting with formalities, and ended with threats with the war tactics sandwiched in the middle. Everyone was to attend war mandatorily.

Mizutsuki arrived back at home; or more accurately, her second home because the first one had been destroyed. She didn't use this other apartment as often because it often leaked. But she only had this place to go now.

Throwing open the door she was met by a thick cloud of dust rising. "Holy damn..." She coughed and walked in.

She dug into the wardrobe for something formal enough to wear. Everything in there was dusty too, but that didn't bother her. A few minutes out in the rain can fix it with no problem. In the end she found an old, abandoned black satin long-sleeved dress with white laces at the hems and sleeves.

She tore off the sleeves and the laces at the hem. Making it into one simple sleeveless black dress. Fumbling around drawers she found some glitter and dumped it on. "Dear lord..." She groaned. "It's a freaking war council, why do we have to dress formal?"

Pinning up her hair into a simple bun and then applying some makeup, she was all ready to go. Call her careless, she didn't care. Then she pulled a star pin out of her pants' pocket which was on the floor.

Inside the Mafia, the levels of sorting assassins were very strict; the same rule applies to the Camorra Mafia as well. There were six levels of assassins they trained.

There were ones without a star; those were called trainees or amateurs. Metal stars, they were professional, but they weren't any more skilled then trainees. Ones with Bronze stars were shabby, but better than the two other levels. Silver stars meant that you aren't shabby and maybe a little bit good. Most of the Mafia assassins are at this level. Gold stars are the second best; it means that you are skilled and your overall mission success rates are over 65%.

Mizutsuki was the special level that barely anyone reached. She had the _Crystal_ star. The Crystal stars mean that you are the best out of the best. Perhaps the one in a million can get this star. Although she usually wears a Silver Star; because according to herself, wearing a Crystal star in front of others is called showing off. She only knew twenty-three other assassins with the same Crystal stars and they were all her in her other identities.

But in a formal meeting like this when she needs to meet the boss, she had to wear the Crystal star.

She threw open the doors and stepped onto the expensive Persian carpet of the hotel party room. Everyone looked up at her; the first thing they looked at was the pin that indicated her level. A round of whispers rose in the crowd.

_Holy damn..._ Mizutsuki thought. _Can't they look elsewhere besides my star!_ In that split second she was seriously tempted to pull the star off her dress and throw it onto the ground. Then she remembered Danchou's orders. _Calm down, calm down..._ She told herself. _Focus on your mission now..._

She nodded hi to everyone and looked around for a certain blonde (Not Shalnark). "Excuse me," she asked another guest. "Would you have any idea where Sarah is?"

"Ahh! Mizutsuki sempai!" The boy she touched screamed.

Deep down inside Mizutsuki groaned. _Don't tell me, a kohai fanboy? Fantastic._ "Yes, I'm Mizutsuki, now can you tell me where Sarah is?"

"Y-You mean the Healer? S-She's over there I think..."

She hated being the legendary person inside the Mafia community. A girl reaching Crystal star at the age of nineteen... All her kohais were idolizing her. It was troublesome that she cannot walk without being stopped by kohais every three meters. (So she usually ignored them.)

"Thanks." She nodded and headed away.

"Um, sempai?"

"Yes?"

"Can you give me some tips on my training after the party? _Please_?"

Mizutsuki shrugged. "If I have time."_ And you're alive... but that's impossible._

She slithered her way around the party room and found the trainee's Healer Sarah, soft blond curls bouncing as always and stuffing herself with sweets. "Sarah I need your help." Mizutsuki said in a low, dull tone.

Sarah jumped and whirled around, startled. "Oh my god can you please stop scaring me like that Mizutsuki?" She exclaimed.

"What the heck... Never mind, I need your help."

Sarah stuck out her tongue, her blond curls were like springs, bouncing all around. Mizutsuki wondered if it'd spring back if she pulled one. "Since when did the Ice Queen started to ask help of people? This would be the headlines of the Camorra Daily News for sure. _The Ice Queen Mizutsuki Asked Help of Sarah the Healer_."

"Sarah I have no time to joke around."

"Alright fine, fine; so what's the problem?"

"My arms and leg are broken. I need you to heal them."

Sarah scanned her up and down. "You look fine to me, and you're not even limping."

Mizutsuki remembered Phinks who stood up and walked around so easily after she used her full strength to break his leg. So she was looking quite normal too? _Sweet_. "A lot of things happened. I have a high pain tolerance."

"The hell...?" Sarah grabbed her arms with brutal strength to her weak wounds. Her eyes widened as she felt her broken bones. "Oh my god, are you even human?" She cried. "Both your arms _and_ your leg? How can you act so natural?"

Mizutsuki shrugged. "I dunno, just got used to it." _And I had someone I wanted to scream '_In your face_' at..._

"Don't worry; I'll heal it this instant. Let's go to the washroom in the corner, Healing bones are a delicate process and I don't want to be interrupted."

Being an Enhancer, Sarah's nen ability was to enhance the healing ability of others and herself. So that even major wounds would take only a few minutes to heal.

It was a convenient ability, but the Ryodan wouldn't need it, as convenient as it sounds. If the members get injured during a mission, it's their own problem that they're not skilled enough. A healer was not needed for them even though others would think of it as the most convenient ability.

"There! Now your leg."

"Thanks." Mizutsuki stretched her arms and felt the joints pop. "Ahh that feels good..." She sighed.

"What happened to you anyway?"

"Just these two days I got a killing target. And then my target was accidentally killed by another group of people and as in revenge I took their target painting. Which resulted them in kidnapping me and torturing me."

"That sounds so fictional."

"It is."

"Meh, it's not my business anyway. Your leg is done."

Mizutsuki stretched her legs as well and her joints popped yet again. She felt the joy of having healthy bones and silently vowed that she'd drink more milk from now on. Suddenly she sighed a long, deep, sigh. "It's a pity that I'll never be able to heal as quickly again..." She said quietly.

The restroom currently they were in was completely empty. Not a single sound was heard after the sentenced left her lips.

Sarah blinked. "Huh?"

"How did they teach it?" Mizutsuki stared at her hand and frowned. "The claw thingy? How did Feitan do it? Hmm..."

Sarah stared at her blankly as Mizutsuki tried to figure out how to turn her hand into claws. They did teach her this, but she did not use it often so she forgot. But after seeing Feitan using it she remembered this convenient ability. "Mizu... What are you doing...?" Sarah started to back away.

"Ahh, got it!" Mizutsuki smiled at her hand, now claws. She looked at Sarah with a wistful smile. "I'm very thankful for you to heal me, Sarah, I truly am. But someone hired me to perform a massacre..."

Sarah gasped. "Mizutsuki you're kidding me right? Someone hired you to perform a massacre? Where? _Here_?"

"Yep."

"Don't be serious! How can you kill all the hundred fifty two guest here single-handed?"

In that second, Sarah's head went flying and it landed on the sink. Her last expression still seemed lost and she was trying to register what happened. Her body took a few seconds to fall limp. Blood slowly stained the cold stone floor. "Who said that I can't?" Mizutsuki answered quietly, although Sarah would never be able to hear it.

Stepping over the pool of blood and carefully avoiding the headless corpse, she walked out of the restroom. She wiped her bloody hand on a handkerchief and threw the cloth away. When she walked out, she seemed to feel Sarah's hateful gaze at her.

"Ahh, Mizutsuki!" Someone approached her immediately. She looked up to see the Vice President of the Mafia family rushing towards her. "I was looking for you hearing that you've arrived."

"Hello, Mr. Parkinson." She nodded. "What's the problem this time? Did the running machine broke again?"

"Ehh, guess that your sharp tongue is still alive and there." Parkinson wiped his sweaty forehead. "There are a few people that boss wants you to meet. C'mon; and be extremely careful with your sarcasm. They are all people who would assist us in this war. One of them is a double star Hunter! So be extra careful."

"To the double star Hunter or all of them?"

"ALL OF THEM."

"Oh."

Piggyson (Her nickname for Parkinson, because he looked like a pig.) led her away to one of the grandest tables with the most beautifully dressed people. "This is the Crystal star assassin we've told you so much about, her name is Mizuki Shiro."

"_Mizutsuki Shimo_." She corrected.

Piggyson shot her a glare that meant_ shut up and be polite._ He did not know how hard that was for her, because she tended to be harsh to people whom she didn't know. That had been demonstrated many times to the point that it became one of her most noticeable traits – having a sharp tongue.

"Yes, Mizutsuki Shimo. She's our Crystal star Assassin and she's skilled in weapons, combat abilities, and most important of all, nen."

The five formally dressed people other than the Camorra leader nodded slowly. Seeming to detest her already because she interrupted her superior. There was another person sitting behind them but she could not see his face, only his blond hair. If it's another cheerful blonde she cannot deal with, she's seriously gonna flip out.

"I guess that we'll introduce ourselves too." Said a middle aged woman. "I am Cho Mizabashi, leader of the Chobashi Mafia."

Mizutsuki nodded. "Judging from all the butterflies on your skirt, I guess you are."

The etiquette lady seemed to explode on the inside. Piggyson kicked her lightly and the Camorra leader tried to cover up the awkward silence. "I'm terribly sorry but she is still young, please excuse some of her rude comments!"

The others nodded slowly, not seeming to take in his words. The awkward silence continued on for a long time. Inside Mizutsuki was impatient; the war's not gonna happen anyway since they'd be all dead by then, why waste her time? Suddenly the blonde at the very back stood up with, slamming the table with his hands. Startling even Mizutsuki with her annoyance. "Oh my god guys," He laughed. "Don't be so serious over something so minor! Say, you are here to overthrow the Don right? Or are you here to teach this little assassin manners?"

Mizutsuki was almost blinded by his handsomeness. Or more actually, his smile and glowing white teeth. She could almost swear that there was a ring of stars around him. Wait, there _is_.

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit. _She thought to herself, considering jumping out the window. _**Another**__ over cheerful blonde guy who is also handsome at the same time. Why does my life suck so much?_

The guy pushed pass the other five people (rather rudely) and grabbed her hand for a handshake. "Hello, I'm Pariston Hill, and it's a pleasure meeting you!"

* * *

_**WAIT A MINUTE DON'T EXIT YET!**_

**Okay, I know that everyone is wondering '_Why in the world is Pariston here?_'. And no, I have not lost me marbles. He is here for the PLOT. And it's a really good plot (or I believe so); It will fit in perfectly with the original story and you'd all understand in the end. Just like one of my lovely reviewers said: _The more you read, the more you understand._ Yes, I create paradoxes and mysteries at first, but I'd always answer them with _logic _****in the end. So no worries and PLEASE DON'T CLICK THAT RED EXIT BUTTON THINKING THAT '_ANOTHER CRAPPY STORY WITH AN INSANE AUTHOR WASTED MY TIME_'...!**

**Please... QAQ I beg you, readers, don't go... (/TTmTT)/**


	13. Chapter 13

Mizutsuki stared at the blonde guy for a second, and then looked down at her hand. A lot of thoughts ran through her mind in that split second, but only one stayed in her head. She smiled at Pariston and held his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Hill."

"Aww, you…" His eyes suddenly widened and he let go of her hand. His palm was a burning red. Piggyson immediately recognized it as Mizutsuki's ability. "MIZUTSUKI!" He screamed in horror. "HOW DARE YOU HARM MR. PARISTON! HE'S THE DOUBLE STAR HUNTER I TOLD YOU ABOUT!"

"Hold on, this happy-go-lucky blondie is a double star Hunter? Whoa."

Pariston waved away their conversation with a smile. "Nah, nah, never mind that. But yes, Shimo-san, I am a double star Hunter; about to get third star actually. And you got the guts! Knowing that I'm an important guest yet you still decided to burnt me. Let me guess, that's your nen ability to change your aura into acid? What is it called? Starts with an M…"

"_Melting Touch._" She answered and held up her hand, the guests gawked in awe as the air around her hand literally _melted_. It was hard to explain, but somehow obvious to see. Nen ability was something not able to be explained by science.

"Ahh, yes." Pariston smiled. "Melting touch. I'm looking forward to seeing your other nen abilities during our corporation."

"We haven't decided if we are going to cooperate yet." Mizutsuki answered icily. _Who cares if you're a double star Hunter applying third star, I'll finish you as easily as killing an ant..._

"Mizutsuki!" Piggyson screeched. "Watch your mouth!"

"Yeah, yeah, Piggyson." Mizutsuki shrugged nonchalantly, turning to walk away. "Let me know when you guys have decided. I'll help with the speech at the end if you want." She waved over her shoulder.

"Huh? Wait! Mizu…!" She had already blended into the crowd using Rhythm Echo.

Parkinson sighed and bowed deeply in sorry to the guests and the Camorra leader. "I'm sorry for her rude and provoking comments!" He exclaimed. "I will bring her back instantly and make her apologize!"

Pariston walked back to his seat. "Nah, she wouldn't mean it even if she did apologize. Just leave her be. Seems like she's already annoyed with your decision already, Mr. Camorra. But whatever, if she _is_ loyal, she will follow the orders no matter how much she doesn't want to."

Pariston had already noticed the unnaturalness in Mizutsuki's actions. But he cannot name what, _yet_.

* * *

Mizutsuki pulled out her cellphone and the rolled up piece of paper Machi had handed her. A glass of juice sat in front of her, because she knew that she'd go crazy even if it was just a glass of champange. She wondered how long it would take for them to discover the headless body in the washroom. She held up her phone and started dial the given numbers. Although Machi had written down all the numbers, she did not add the names beside them.

She waited for the first person to pick up the phone. _Ring…ring…ring… _"Hello?"

"Ehh, are you Franklin?" She asked the deep, intelligent voice.

"Yes, are you the new member? I don't have your number in my phone."

"Yeah, Machi didn't give me the names beside the numbers. So I'm phoning each one. I'm moving on to the second one now, bye."

"K' bye."

* * *

Franklin turned off his phone. Feitan frowned. "Who was that?"

"The new member."

"Is she done with her mission already?"

"I don't think so; there were music and stuff in the background."

"Hmph…"

"Where is Phinks anyway?" Franklin asked. "Aren't you normally with him?"

"Phinks is somewhere at Bennings, I don't know where. He can take care of himself; I'm not his babysitter and he's not mine…"

* * *

Mizutsuki dialed the second number. It was Nobunaga.

"Hey newbie, how are you doing with Danchou's mission? Is it hard or do you need help?"

"No, I don't, samurai. And you couldn't give me help even if you wanted to, this is a single mission."

"Haha, you're right. Bye."

The third number belonged to Machi, they chattered for a few minutes, unlike the other members whom she was not as familiar with. They ended the conversation with a _"Good luck."_ And _"Thank you."_ The fourth was Pakunoda, whose queen-like aura was still feel-able even at the other side of the telephone. Mizutsuki hung up quickly; she was still kinda scared of her.

The fifth was Shalnark, whom was as cheerful as usual.

"Cheerfulness is killing me…" Mizutsuki muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Shalnark asked.

"So far all the blondes I've met are so cheerful I can't keep up with their pace. When I thought that I can get a break I met Sarah, another cheerful person; thank god that I killed her. But then I just met another double star Hunter called Pariston and he's so cheerful I wanna beat him up. To matters worse, he's good looking."

"Pariston? Wait a minute, that's…!" Shalnark didn't finish.

"Who were you talking to about me?" Pariston suddenly appeared. Mizutsuki jumped in surprise. "Agh!"

"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you."

Mizutsuki wasn't startled by him sneaking on her. She was startled that he was able to _sneak up_ on her with her five senses turned on _max_. She didn't feel his aura either, was he actually using Zetsu _just_ to sneak up on her? But she was not detecting any kinds of killing aura. What was he doing?

"Hey, you were sensing around for people right? Although you hid it very well, I can see it. Your back was tensed up unusually."

_Goddamn double star Hunter..._"...What do you want?" She demanded.

"Oh no, I want nothing, I just wanted to compliment you on your skills. It's very impressive, if you became a Hunter you'd become a double star like me in no time! You should considering the Hunter Exams, it'll be fun and it'd be good for the Mafia, right."

"...Thank you. I guess. But the Hunter Exams is something I'll never be interested in." _He's a double star Hunter...I better look out for him. Being able to sneak up on me unnoticed..._

"Hmm, and if you're a criminal, you'd probably be A-ranked." Pariston continued on thoughtfully. His expression was the same, smiling with two bright stars beside his teeth. But Mizutsuki felt a cold chill run down her spine. His words were like thunder to her, rattling her eardrums. How did he know? Or more exactly, how can he _guess so close?_

_This man is dangerous._ Her instincts screamed. She didn't know why he was dangerous, but if her instincts think he's dangerous, he is.

"Pity I'm not." Mizutsuki replied, raising her guard highly while straining her energy to act natural. "I have the whole Camorra Mafia behind me. I have no crime records and I never will."

"Yeah, otherwise Bounty Hunters and Blacklist Hunters would be all over you."

_(Why can he say such terrifying things with such a sunny smile like this?)_

"You know, just now, a headless corpse was found inside the women's restroom."

Mizutsuki's heart stopped beating for a second.

"The superiors had kept the news down, but they're secretly watching all the guests now. They are suspecting a traitor _Judas_ among the Mafia members."

"Damn that old jeezer, why did he tell an outsider like you instead of me first?"

"You call Mr. Camorra_ old jeezer_?" Pariston looked amused. "They _did_ try to find you, but then you were using Zetsu to hide. Why?"

_(How come everything that comes out of his mouth is either rude or threatening?)_

"Why wouldn't I be?" She replied.

Pariston answered with a sunny smile. "I guess so. I have no permission to nose in your business. Perhaps you were hiding from one of your stalker fans?" He laughed at his lame joke (That made Mizutsuki want to punch him in the face.), and patted her shoulder. To her surprise he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "But let us get to the main point of this conversation. Wanna switch a spot? Because what we're going to talk about is important business…" His eyes glowed in dark amusement.

Mizutsuki stared at him. _What the hell is wrong with him…? _She thought. _Is he suspecting me for the corpse in the restroom? (Although I _am_ responsible for it.) No, that's impossible, I double checked for people watching before we went in. His table is all the way at the other side, there's no way that he'd have seen it. But then why would he be saying those stuff?_

Pariston smiled and waited patiently for her answer. She was still thinking. _What kind of important business…? Whatever, the mission is first. Anyone who gets in my way, I'll kill them. Everyone would die in the end anyway, so it doesn't matter…_

Slowly she stood up and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Sure."

"How about the balcony? Pretty romantic place."

"I don't care if you're a double star Hunter and super handsome. Anyone who flirts with me, dies."

"Oh that was just a joke, and thank you!"

"Don't." _You're gonna be dead anyways… I'm not a Necrophilia patient; I don't get attracted to corpses. _

Mizutsuki opened the door to the hotel balcony, leaning against the glass railing, ignoring the fact that they're sixty meters off the ground and it was raining. Her eyes narrowed at the casual look on Pariston's face. "What the hell is the _"important business"_ you're talking about?" She made quotation mark gestures.

"I know that you did it." He said. His tone was still the same, only with a darker color added to it and more threatening elements.

She crossed her arms. "Did _what_ exactly?"

"I don't know why or on what occasion, you were the one that killed the Healer, correct?"

Mizutsuki chewed the insides of her cheeks until she tasted the iron-metal flavor of blood. _How did he know…? What is he doing now, blackmailing me? No, it doesn't matter, because he's gonna die in the end anyways… the troublesome part is that he had already told others and they're all raising their guards on me… Although that does not affect the ending I prepared. But still…_

"Ha, where's your proof?" She snorted, deciding that since everyone will die in the end, she had no worries. Only that the path to killing them would get a little bumpier.

"I don't have any proof." Pariston shrugged; her jaw dropped.

"Then why are you accusing me?" She snapped. "Are you actually retarded or are you just nuts?"

"Chill, chill," He motioned for her to calm down. "Although I don't have any proof, I know that you are the culprit. So there's no denying; I'm always right."

"… You better get your head checked dude."

"That's unnecessary, because my head is totally fine. Although you're pretending to deny it now, you cannot deny the fact that you did kill the Healer. You probably won't answer why too, but it doesn't matter. Because you'll have to cooperate with me."

"Why?" She asked. "You have no proof and you cannot blackmail me. What makes you so positive that I'll obey you?"

"Do you honestly think that you're such an important chess piece to the Camorra?" He asked. "So important to the point that they cannot afford to lose you no matter what."

"… I don't get it."

"What I mean is, if you don't cooperate with me, I can tell Mr. Camorra that you killed the Healer and you are Judas. If I said that they'd probably kill you immediately. Even if you didn't, all I have to say is that I don't like you. Being a comrade in the Camorra's plans to overthrow the Don and a double star Hunter, I have much more authority than you and they'd dispose you immediately if I said something ill. Either way, you'll be forced to cooperate."

Mizutsuki was forced into silence; what he was saying was true. The alliance between him and the Camorra already exists, in some ways he's like the second boss of the Camorra Mafia now. Any ill words from him of her can end her life. Although it wouldn't be easy to kill her, it would be troublesome for both her and the Ryodan.

_Let's see what he has to say, and then see if it'll affect the Ryodan's plans… The answer was obvious anyway; everyone dies in the end._

"What do you want me to cooperate in?"

Pariston smiled. "So do you mean you agree?"

"Hurry up and say the goddamned thing."

"I need you to help me massacre the Camorra Mafia."

* * *

**Once again, I AM _NOT_ NUTS. Pariston would be an important character in the story more or less, but he'd only appear a few times. What can I say, he's a great influential character throughout the original Hunter X Hunter story as well. I don't need to go further right? But I do hope that you guys know who he is, because he hadn't been animated yet... =_=" If you don't I'm post the link to his page on wikipedia then you'll get the idea. (****Any questions you have to ask or problems you think I made, PM me and I'd be glad to explain or change; unless it's unchangeable.)**

**PS: I uploaded two chapters at the same time, so you wouldn't get confused with this one! ****Thank me dears =w=****(The second one would probably explain everything; but if you understand Pariston's personality, I think you already get it.) **

**About three chapters from this the second arc would start, but I hope to write some relaxing stuff between, so you wouldn't be all tensed up reading (If you are). I'm sure that you'd like the second arc, because in my mind it's currently my favorite as well~**

**Review, Favorite, and Follow~ \(OwO)/ **


	14. Chapter 14

"Why would you form an alliance with them if you want them dead?"

"Because I want to leave some extra successes before I become triple star Hunter. And killing the Camorra would be _something_."

"I refuse." She said.

Pariston looked surprised, as he was sure that she'd agree. "Why?"

"Because I don't like you." She said. "I only killed Sarah because she was annoying me with her chattering. Nothing else."

"Aren't you afraid of me exposing your secrets thus killing you?"

"Do I look like someone who'd be scared of being exposed of their secrets? Don't be ridiculous; and now I can expose your secret too. You wanna betray the Camorra Mafia."

"You wouldn't tell."

"Yeah, I won't." She shrugged. "But now we both hold each other's secret. Guess that we wouldn't bother each other anymore. Thanks for the date."

"No problem."

With a smirk Mizutsuki walked pass him and returned into the hotel room.

* * *

Pariston stayed outside, a rather amused look on his face. "What an interesting girl…" He mused. "She'd be indeed fun to play with." He knew so far that _someone_ had _hired_ her to kill in this party, from his Hunter information network. But he didn't know who, why, and how many people she was hired to kill. But being able to kill someone inside the same Mafia and at a war council, her payment must be an considerable amount of money. Either that or her loyalty had already turned…

He thought for a second. She had used '_them_' to refer to the Camorra, her loyalty _did_ already turned somewhere else... Only he didn't know who. Leaving successes may be important, but to him, enjoying himself and having fun was even more important.

"Well, well," He stretched. _Let's forget the Camorra Mafia._ He thought. _Mizutsuki Shimo is a much more entertaining doll to play with. And it might be fun to learn who had convinced her to do this and change her loyalty. This party is too boring, let's go somewhere else with more entertaining stuff…_ He exited out of the building and walked onto the streets, only looking back once and it was wondering what Mizutsuki was planning to do. He held up his phone and dialed a number. Within a few seconds the other side picked it up.

"Hey, it's me, Pariston. Can you do me a favor? Thanks."

* * *

Mizutsuki returned indoors and locked herself in a washroom. She took a deep breath in front of the mirror, scanned the reflection of herself closely, and then let out the deep breath. _Pariston Hill…_ She thought darkly; her killing aura reeked out and her eyes became dark. _I'mma kill you… _She did not know that Pariston had already left the party silently .

The only one she was loyal to was Danchou, and Danchou had assigned this as a single mission. She would not allow this to become some stupid cooperation with another cheerful annoying blonde who doesn't know how to speak properly with manners and not rude.

The party had been running for three hours, there were two hours left. She decided to have dessert first; in other words, she was going to kill the _strong_ ones first.

The strong ones did _not_ include the six people that came to this party to assist in the war by forming an alliance. From what she had observed, most of their abilities are normal leveled. Silver at most; apart from Pariston, who was without a doubt Crystal-leveled. The strong ones were their guards – they had brought their strongest fighters to act as body guards. Perhaps Gold they were?

"Umm, Mrs. Cho?" She approached the Butterfly madam. "May I have a word with you? I want to apologize formally for my rude comments."

"Well, it's nice to see that you actually still have some manners." The woman said. "Very well, I'll listen to your apologize, but don't expect me to forgive you."

"That is _fine_…" She breathed and led the woman and her two bodyguards away from the party room and into a small, simple hotel room. Mizutsuki motioned for them to enter first and held open the door for them. The woman (Or in the _Mizutsuki-language_, the _bitch_) held her chin up high and walked in. Her two guards followed, regarding Mizutsuki carefully. Who replied them with a sunny smile.

"Alright, I'm here, now say your apology." The woman sat down in the chair.

Mizutsuki smiled sweetly and didn't utter a single word. If either of them used Gyo they'd realize her intention to kill immediately.

"Huh? Why aren't you speaking?"

She didn't answer and continued to smile with her hands folded behind her back. It wasn't until the split second that she let out her killing aura that the woman's two bodyguards noticed. The lunged towards her but Mizutsuki had already changed her hand into claws and coated it thick with her acidic aura. She sliced off one of the guard's head easily and kicked the other in the stomach before ripping off his ears.

The buff man screamed in agony and grabbed at his now nonexistent ears. "AHH! MY EARS!" He screamed.

"Your guard is full of gaps you know." Mizutsuki punched towards his right chest and he raised his arm to guard. But instead of actually punching his chest, she locked her arms around his neck and arm while she kicked back her right leg, making the bulking man fall with ease. Her style of martial arts did not focus on throwing over opponents with strength. It focused on how to defeat opponents by throwing over their balance. This way of martial arts even worked on _Phinks_, there's no way it wouldn't work on a mere bodyguard. She then drove her hand into the man's left chest and dug out his heart. It beated two more times in her hands before it stopped working completely.

"Ahh, they're so weak." She complained and turned her gaze to the petrified woman.

"How… two of my best men…"

"If your _best_ is only at this level, then there'd be no point in you forming an alliance with the Camorra. In fact, you'd be a burden for them." She grabbed the woman's face, her aura slowly gathering on her palm and transmuting into acid. "Go to hell, bitch."

Using the same method, she killed the four other important guests as well along with the Camorra leader. It was fun killing him, she had to admit; the look of despair and disbelief on his face was just plain fantastic. It almost got her excited, like in the sexual way. She loved the looks of despair on people's faces as she killed them. However, she could not find Pariston. When she finally gave up on looking for him in the crowds of people, she went and asked the counter to learn that he had left long ago.

She screamed in frustration. Why hadn't she killed him when she had the chance? …But never mind, perhaps she should be relieved. Pariston would have been a troublesome opponent indeed, unlike these other people. He was a double star Hunter; his death would be investigated immediately if she did kill him. And soon they'd find out that Genei Ryodan had gained a new member. But his face would have been fun to watch as he died; she couldn't help imagining.

Returning to the party room, Piggyson immediately walked up to her. "Mizutsuki, we're in desperate trouble now, please help us!"

"What's the problem? Piggy-uh, no, Parkinson."

Parkinson did not notice the fact that her killing aura was reeking out unnaturally and her expression was oddly blank. "This is terrible! It is time to announce the speech, but we can't find any of the six guests or boss himself! We know that Mr. Hill left, but we cannot find the other five! We're searching for them now, but can you please take my place for reading the speech intro right now? I'd be grateful if you did. Actually, you must! The only one authorized enough to read the speech other then me is you! Please! This is an emergency!"

"Of course, I'd be pleasured." Her tone was just a little bit too sweet. Piggyson raised an eyebrow but shook it off. "Thanks! I'm off to look for boss now!" The man scurried away on his short, fat legs. Mizutsuki looked down at the piece of speech paper he had thrusted into her hands. After reading it through she tore it apart and tossed the pieces of paper into the trash bin.

The finale is finally about to start.

She walked boldly up onto the stage where all the spotlights were focused on, and the audience quieted down. Some of her kohais chattered excitedly at seeing their idol sempai on stage giving such an important speech.

Mizutsuki cleared her throat. "Test… test…" She said in a low tone. "Okay the mic seems to be working."

That earned her a wave of chuckles from the audience.

"Anyways," She put on a sweet smile. "Thank all of you for attending this meeting today. Here I represent as the boss of the Camorra family and thank all of you yet again." She gave a slight bow. The people under the stage nodded.

"Well then," She placed her hand onto the sides of the table holding the microphone and leaned forward. A demonic smile creeped up her lips and cracked wide. Never had she realized that killing was such a thrilling sport. "Let us disregard the formalities…you all die now."

* * *

Everyone under the stage stood up in fury. "What are you talking about?" "Get her down!" "Are you insane?" "This is a war meeting, an important matter, and you're joking? Get off the stage!" If they had tomatoes or eggs by their hands, they would for sure throw them.

Mizutsuki regained her cool and smiled, speaking into the microphone yet again. "No, I'm not joking." She grinned. "I have already killed seven people who had attended this party. They are the Healer Sarah, the five important guests of alliance, and of course, the Camorra leader himself."

"…B-Bullshit!" One audience exclaimed. "Take her down! Seize that crazy woman!"

"Too late." Her grin faltered and changed into a dead expression of a professional killer. However the cold smirk still lingered at her lips. She snapped her fingers. "_Pulmonary; Meltdown_."

The audience didn't feel it at first, as they kept on screaming to seize her. Mizutsuki didn't take notice to it, because she knew that her nen would affect them before they reach her. Just as the suited guards were finally rushing onto the stage, they felt it, the change in their lungs.

_Pulmonary; Meltdown_ was a simple, wide ranged ability. It had similar effects to the invisible wall of acid she'd create when changing the acidity of air. However, the effects of the acid wall were only middle ranged and it cannot cover up the whole party room. _Pulmonary; Meltdown_ allowed her to change the acidity level of air to something that causes damage to the respiratory system only when breathed in. To learn this move she had to practice on manipulation, but since that manipulation was the hardest type of nen aura for her to learn, she had turned to rely on Vows and Limitations. This ability was very convenient when it came to massacring people all gathered in the same room. For instance, now.

She hopped down the stage and stared at the people withering away on the floor, clutching their chests and throats. "Does it hurt so much?" She kicked a body. "Having your trachea and lungs melted…"

"Gah…ah…" The person cannot answer. "Wa…ta…"

"Water?" She raised an eyebrow. "Ahh, water…" Kneeling down she grabbed the person's hair, speaking into his face. "You know what? 70% of the human body is made of water, so I think you'd be fine…"

With that she let go of the person's hair and walked away, pushing open the door and walking out onto the hall. She reached the elevator and pressed down. _Danchou's mission is completed… more or less. Pariston escaped, but does that count…?_

She continued to think about the question. _Does that count? Probably, but because he's a Hunter, his name wasn't written on the guest list… does that count still? Hmm? Someone answer me!_

Mizutsuki pulled out her phone and dialed Shalnark's number. If she remembered it correctly she seemed to have cut him off because Pariston came near.

Shalnark immediately picked up the phone. "Mizutsuki! Are you still alive?" He asked.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" She could already sense that she had missed something very important from their last conversation.

"You were talking about Pariston Hill right? That guy is dangerous! Don't go near him."

"What? For an A-class criminal like you, you're saying that this happy-go-lucky-super-handsome-blondie-number-two is dangerous?"

"Yes."

"Oh…" She bit her lips. "I finished Danchou's mission, but during the mission, Pariston seemed to realize that someone had hired me to do this. He may know that I'm from Genei Ryodan or something and I'm worried. How do you contact leader?"

"You don't, leader refuses nearly every call from members unless it's something really urgent."

"This _is_ urgent."

"You have a point there… Can you tell me the details?"

"Over the phone?" She frowned.

"In person, it'll be easier. Are you still in Rivelle?"

Mizutsuki rolled her eyes although she knew that he can't see. "Listen to the background music of the freaking _rain_ behind me, where do you think I am?"

"I was just asking. I'm at Nori, meet me tomorrow noon at Lakeview, I think Nobunaga's there too."

Mizutsuki sighed. "Oh fantastic, a lunch date with Blondie and Samurai, sweet."

"You'll have to get to know other members sooner or later; if Feitan or Phinks were there too I'd call them too. This is something that the Ryodan would need to be alerted. Any signs of threats could be important. The more member know about this, the better."

"I guess you're right; but if I really do meet either Feitan or Phinks, I'd punch their jaws first."

"Ahahahaha, see you tomorrow. I'm going to phone Nobunaga now. Bye."

"Bye." Mizutsuki snapped her phone shut and hurried back to her apartment. Starting from tomorrow or even tonight, the massacre of the Camorra would be broadcasted on the news, and the only suspect would be the one who was one the guest list, yet the corpse wasn't found - which was her. Starting tomorrow, her life as an actual criminal with _records_ would start. The Mafia would not wipe her clean again.

She was excited.

* * *

**Yo-ho! The first arc is almost finished, the last part of the first arc would be the next chapter, which would also pose s the first chapter for the second arc. So all in all... ch15 would be a transition chapter starring Shalnark, Nobunaga, and Mizutsuki (seriously, three Genei Ryodan members going out for lunch, how much damage would they make to the city?). Ain't that fantastic? At least I think it is. Chapter 16 might be a transition chapter as well, depending on my writing moods and sudden writer blocks.**

**(I NOW FORMALLY REQUEST DEAR LORD GOD TO ELIMINATE ALL WRITER BLOCKS FROM US AUTHORS!)**

**Review!(OωO)/**


	15. Chapter 15

She woke up from an afternoon nap that had gone ten hours too long. After seeing the time on her watch she jumped out of her bed and stormed to the closet. Jumping out of the formal dress she had went to sleep in and changed into her usual attire of a white, long-sleeved hoodie, dark blue denim shorts that goes way up her thighs, and brown leather sandals. Sandals were uncommon inside the city of Rivelle, since it was always raining, yet she still owned one. It was good that she did, because she was going to leave the gloomy lair of hypocrites which always rained.

When she turned on the TV, the news of the massacre was spread across every news channel. It wouldn't be long before they realize that she was the culprit.

It would be better if she left today, right now (It was three o'clock in the morning). As soon as possible. Grabbing the black umbrella and all her cash (plus one credit card of one of her richest identities) and two other forged ID cards, she left the apartment. She hesitated before pulling the Crystal star pin off her black dress. It was pure natural Crystal after all, and made into a star shape by the best craft smith. There was no reason for it not to be expensive and could be sold at a good price on the black market.

_Machi told me to go to this other place... _She dug the rolled up piece of paper out of her pocket. _Oh, it's also in Lakeview. I'm meeting Shalnark and Nobunaga at noon tomorrow and I'll probably arrive before dawn. Yep there's enough time._

She folded up the piece of paper nicely – unlike what she had always done to it before – and placed it in her wallet, which went inside her small light-green backpack that was slung over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and continued to walk. Her walking speed was quick, as she was anxious to leave the nasty place.

Once she was outside of the city she broke into a run, abandoning her umbrella. The rain soon stopped as she got farther away. She knew that she could run the whole way until she reached Lakeview. _I'm a criminal on the run._ She thought, amused. But then she realized that her joke was no better than Pariston's. She scowled at the thought of him.

_Shalnark and Nobunaga would do something about it. _She thought. _That's why we're meeting._

Lakeview wasn't very far from Rivelle, about twenty or thirty kilometers at most. And she ran the whole way there. Which took her about two hours; she had a naturally high stamina, and after training, she could run a full marathon without sweating. Although depending on the weather and how the road is. But today, the weather was cool and the road was flat.

She arrived at the outskirts of the city and adjusted her quick breath. Although it was unbelievably close to Rivelle, it had normal weather and the whole city was quiet and sunny. It was a model city, since she hadn't heard any bad rumors of it either inside the Mafia. And the Mafia was always filled with information, either good or bad.

"Ehh… would anything be open this early in the morning?" She wondered out loud, eyes twitching as the clean streets echoed everything she said back.

The other two she was going to meet; one is probably snoozing somewhere in the city, and the other is probably rushing over from Nori. It'd be impossible to contact either of them; there weren't any service on the roads between cities. And she had seen how Nobunaga looked when he slept; it was so terrible it seemed artistic. Machi told her that Bonolenov and Uvogin had once tried to predict the weather with Nobunaga's amount of drool. (Which failed miserably.)

She looked down at the location Machi had written for her. Oh look, she even drew a map of the streets around it. She hadn't noticed before; but even after examining the map carefully, she had no idea where the location was in the foreign city. All the streets looked the same to her. If she just wondered around absentmindedly she'd be lost for sure.

In the end she decided to risk the chance of being recognized and walked into a convenient store, pulling up her hood and buying a tuna sandwich. She asked the person at the cashier when she paid. "Where do you find this place?" She pressed her voice low and pointed at the location described on paper.

"Huh? Oh that place. I don't think that a young lady like you would want to go there." The person frowned.

"Why?"

"Because it's a bad place. All kinds of criminals and homeless guys are gathered there. Something bad could happen to young lady like you there."

…_No wonder they told me to go there. It's the_ **_safest place in the world. _**"It doesn't matter, where is it?"

"If you insist… it's at the very south part of town, what they call the Thieves Caravan."

"Thanks." She opened the sandwich and started to eat while walking her way towards the location. She wondered what kind of shop was the '_The Ink Cartrage_'. But if they trust her skills enough to point her to the so-called _Thieves Caravan_, she probably had nothing to fear. Hell, since _when_ did she have something to fear? How long had it been since the last of her fears vanished away? She had absolute confidence in her abilities.

As she walked deeper into the South part of Lakeview, the more people appeared on the streets. But they weren't awake. They were the homeless people and the people who were drunk, staggering around. She didn't bother hugging her chest like most females would do in this situation. The drunks didn't even notice her and they staggered away.

Soon she was in the deepest part; there were no drunken people anymore, yet there were still homeless guys resting away. There were people whom people would call 'criminals' standing everywhere and admiring her up and down. Their gazes started from her face, then her back and chest, and then onto her legs. Using gyo she could see that everyone here know nen a little more or less. But they were worse than most trainees. But then again, nen is something that can strengthen your fighting abilities greatly; even just by knowing the very basics would be a great help.

As she kept on looking around for the building, a strong, muscular man walked up to her with a smirk. "Yo, little girl, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Mizutsuki could see that he was thinking of something dirty, and she could see that his nen level was no better than the rest. She decided to play cool. "I'm looking for a shop called 'The Ink Cartrage', would you happen to know where it is?"

"Oh of course I know sweetie, it's just right down the road."

"Fantastic, saved me a lot of time, thank you." She started to walk away but the man blocked her with his arm. "Oh-ho-ho, you're not passing here without paying _something_."

She stopped. Like literally _stopped_, everything of her seemed to stop. Her breathing and her trembling of the cold morning air. Even the time seemed to stop. Then she looked up at the man; her expression was dark and murderous and her killing aura poured out, stunning the whole street. Even the people who were sleeping; they jerked awake and stared around wildly, feeling nauseated at the terrible ice cold aura. The ones who were already awake stopped as well; petrified by the tense atmosphere her killing aura had created.

The man who had blocked her was petrified as well, too afraid to even gulp or back away. Mizutsuki stared at him through dead eyes. "I said, _move_."

He tried to move, but his legs didn't respond. The malice in her aura was terrifying and he regretted approaching this seemingly weak girl.

"Tsk," Mizutsuki scowled. "I said, _move_." She transformed her palm into claws and grabbed the hand that was blocking her, twisting to a painful and irregular angle and dig her claws into his flesh. The man flipped over and finally regained conscious, as he let out a scream and clutched his broken wrist. "Ahh!"

"Your left side's open." Mizutsuki said quietly. In a split second she was at his left side and she slammed her hand onto his stomach. "_Melt_."

She changed the acidity of her aura to strong acid, which melted off the man's flesh quickly until his intestines threatened to drop out. Every other guy near enough to see screamed and ran away as fast as their legs can carry them.

Mizutsuki cracked her neck and walked away. Was killing someone like that alright? Oh never mind, the Genei Ryodan kill people like it was an everyday exercise. Surely it wouldn't matter.

She found the shop and realized that it was a tattooing store. "Oh yeah right…" She mumbled. "I forgot." _Everyone's member number must be tattooed onto their bodies…_ Now she was actually afraid. She had never gotten a tattoo before and heard that it hurts. And she didn't know which body part she's going to tattoo on.

It was ironic, someone who can kill a man without blinking was afraid of getting her first tattoo. It was the joke of the day.

Taking a deep breath she walked into the building and found a woman smoking. "Hey," The woman took a deep smoke. "The killing aura that just filled the whole street, was that from you?" The woman was tattooed from head to toe with the exception of her face. And she had a long, slender body.

Mizutsuki nodded. "Yes."

"Why did you let out that aura?"

"A guy was blocking my way. So I killed him."

"Hmm…" She blew out another ring of smoke. "Seems like the Ryodan had gained yet another member. And it's a little girl! What a surprise. Whenever they gain another member they always come here to my place, because you cannot just walk into any normal tattoo salon and ask to print the Genei Ryodan logo on yourself. That's bound to alert the police."

Mizutsuki nodded. "Makes sense."

"So? Where do you want to print it? You're member number eight right?"

"…Yeah, and I have no idea…"

"Very well, sit down." The woman gestured to a chair and walked over to the messy desk by the side. Mizutsuki did as she was told and sat down. She saw the woman scribble something on a piece of paper before walking over to her.

"Close your eyes and point at a random spot." She held up the piece of paper in front of her. There was a stick figure on it and labeled right and left. "I'll print the spider on the spot you choose."

"Convenient way…" Mizutsuki mused and closed her eyes, raising her finger and pointed blindly.

"Okay… it's a nice place you choose; fashionable enough, only that it's no normal logo you're about to print. Well then, let's get started. Can you pull off your hoodie please? It will be easier for me if there wasn't a piece of thick fabric between the needle and the skin. I'll close the windows of course."

"Uhh… sure?" She pulled off her hoodie and realized how cold it was. "Would it hurt?"

The woman looked amused. "You have such a powerful killing aura, you can kill people without hesitating, and you're afraid that it'd _hurt_? Lie down please."

Mizutsuki bit her lips and did as she was told. "Sorta… I'm nervous of having multiple needles in my body."

"Well, don't."

"Okay."

* * *

"There, done." The woman said as she wrapped bandages around the body part. "Keep this on with a minimum of two hours, and treat it gently. It could cause infection before the wound is healed completely."

"Thanks." Her back ached from lying down and so did her neck. If she was to stand up right now she was sure that her spine would make multiple cracking noises. "Can I put my hoodie back on now?"

"Go ahead, be careful."

Mizutsuki sat up and reached towards her abandoned hoodie. As she expected there were multiple snapping noises from her spine and she winced. _Ow_. As she was about to pull it on the door bursted open and Nobunaga marched in. "I knew that it was you! I could feel that killing aura all the way from across town! Goddamn you I was having a good dream...!" He paused and looked at her up and down. "Nice body."

"You tell anyone about this, I'll melt your head off." Mizutsuki spat as she pulled the hoodie over the top of her head. "Now thinking of it, I can't wear crop tops or tank tops anymore... damn."

"Too bad your Vow doesn't allow you to do it." Nobunaga snorted. "Hey Vicky, long time no see."

"You too Nobunaga." The artist nodded. "She does have a good body, but her expression is just _too_ unfriendly. You guys outta each her how to smile."

"Meh, Feitan never smiles either. It doesn't matter." Nobunaga opened the door. "Oy! Let's go Newbie!"

"What's wrong with Feitan's face muscles anyway?" Mizutsuki cracked her neck. _Snap_. "And don't call me Newbie! It's ten already? Is Shalnark here yet?"

"Fine, _Worst Drinker_. He should be…" Nobunaga scratched his chin. "He's probably somewhere around the electronic street now. You know that he _adores_ electronics."

"It's damn obvious…" She scowled at her unpleasant nicknames. (Although it wasn't like the nicknames she gave others were any nicer.)

"Whatever, we'll meet him sooner or later. So he told me the situation over the phone, what is it about the Paris Hilton guy?"

"_Pariston Hill_, not_ Paris Hilton_." Mizutsuki deadpanned.

"Hey, you gotta admit, those two names are freakishly familiar."

Mizutsuki snorted and looked down at the ground. The blood she had spilled earlier was dry and hard on the street. Everyone backed away as she walked through with Nobunaga. "You seem pretty unpopular here already." He mused. "That's alright, I'm not very popular here either. The reason that we're so unpopular is that we're too strong it makes them look weak. The don't like feeling weak."

"Or maybe they _are_ weak and we _are_ strong."

"Heh, I like your definition better actually..."

* * *

**Another chapter fresh out of the oven! Remember, this is a transition chapter, and chapter 16 would be the formal start of the second arc probably. It all depends on how long I make the chapters actually. I usually write it about five word pages long, because I think it's a perfect length, not too long and not too short. And in the second arc Pariston wouldn't play as big of a role (And he'd probably be completely gone in the third arc); and guess what? Another Ryodan member would play a big part in the second arc! Guess who guess who! **

**No, I won't tell it here. But I _will_ give a hint; the first part of the hint is already given but you need the second part to piece it up; and the second part is in the _next_ chapter (sorry.). And does anyone know what the second arc would be about yet? I gave a lot of hints on it too!**

**Thank you to all my reviewers so far! I love all of you! And Ellixie yes, I am, in fact... a rather fast updater (since it's summer); and now you've said it, it really terrifies me that people are forgetting HxH; forgetting the anime is worse than forgetting our stories (Since we need popular anime to write popular stories). And Obese-Gorilla I love your reviews! You're the only one who reviewed multiple times so far.**

**And once again, thank you to all of you! (Don't forget to keep on reviewing) ****Review and tell me what you think about the first arc and who the mysterious member of the to-be-coming second arc is! (Please, no negative comments...please...QAQ)**


	16. Chapter 16

The two of them found Shalnark poking around an electronics store. Shalnark looked up from the newest cellphone brand and smiled. "Oh hey guys! I was planning on meeting you guys at twelve…"

"It's twelve _thirty_ now, Shalnark…" Nobunaga scowled and threatened to reach for his sword. "We've been sitting under the sun waiting since_ ten twenty_…"

Mizutsuki nodded slowly, her rage threatening to explode. "If I have to sit under the sun for another hour eating lunch. I can't guarantee how big the damage to the city would be…"

"Why don't you guys just change into cooler clothing? Seriously, a long sleeve robe and hoodie, and you're complaining that it's _hot_?"

"Are you an idiot?" Nobunaga spat. "I've been this look since the start of the century! There's no way I'm changing."

"Oh my, I didn't know that you were fifty-six, samurai…" Mizutsuki said sarcastically. "Due to many reasons, I can't wear tank tops or crop tops ever agaiIn unless I waste a whole box of foundation."

Nobunaga shot her a glare. "Which side are you on?"

"Your side of course, but that's not going to stop me from being sarcastic."

"Tsk…"

Shalnark shrugged. "Alright, let's find a restaurant with AC on."

"Oh yeah right, Shal." Mizutsuki reached into her backpack and dug out the Crystal pin. "Help me sell it for a good price. Or see if anyone in the Ryodan wants it. Probably Machi or Pakunoda. I think it'd look good on Pakunoda actually."

Shalnark caught the Crystal star pin and examined it. "Wow, the Crystal star of the Mafia? This is my first time seeing one! It's bigger than I thought too."

Nobunaga looked back and forth between the two and the star. "What is that star anyway?" He asked grumpily. "It's pretty alright, but what does it do?"

"Oh you don't know Nobunaga?" Shalnark asked. "Inside the Mafia, the assassins are rated by stars, and barely _anyone_ gets to the level of a Crystal star! About every one in a million maybe. Hmm… this is pure crystal alright, or maybe it's diamond. If it is diamond, it's the largest I've ever seen."

"Are you serious?" Nobunaga's jaw dropped. "And you're selling it?"

"What else can I do with it?" Mizutsuki asked. "I don't need it."

Shalnark slipped the pin away into his pocket. "Don't worry; I'll sell it at a good price. Let's auction it on the Hunter site! Starting with ninety million Jennies. I'm sure that many Hunters or collectors would want it."

"Good." Mizutsuki crossed her arms. "Now let's go eat, I'm starving to the point that I could collapse any second; if we were a second late I'd have ate that stupid pin…" She turned around and walked away.

Shalnark laughed. "You're not serious right?"

Mizutsuki paused in her steps and she turned back to stare at him blankly. "What do you _think_?" She deadpanned. "I don't care; you're treating us to lunch. Right Nobunaga?"

The samurai looked amused. "Good idea."

Shalnark now looked a little frustrated. "Oh my, I'm not sure that I have enough money for this. I might have to kill a few waiters and employees..."

Mizutsuki smirked. "Thanks."

* * *

A few minutes later they were sitting in a small Italian restaurant eating spaghetti, pizza, and drinking coke. The other customers shot them weird glances from time to time. If Nobunaga wasn't eating and would just sitting silently, people would have guessed that he was a ghost of a samurai following the little couple around. But since that he was eating and making a ton of noise; they can see that the three weirdos were friends.

"So what is it about the Paris Hilton guy again?" Nobunaga wiped his mouth.

"_Pariston Hill_." Mizutsuki corrected again with a hiss. "Are you doing this on purpose?"

"C'mon, it's confusing! You know how similar their names are."

Shalnark crossed his arms. "Pariston is a double star Hunter, but he actually qualifies for a triple star Hunter. And if I'm correct; the current Hunter association president Netero, had appointed him as Vice President. How did he threaten you? Mizutsuki."

Mizutsuki sipped her coke. "He didn't actually threaten me, he asked me to cooperate with him in massacring the Camorra, or he'd kill me using his authority in our alliance."

Nobunaga's eye twitched. "Ehh, in the normal logic of the public; that _is_ called threatening."

"Oh. Anyways, I refused because a corporation would mean breaking Danchou's rule of a single mission. And then before I killed him, he left the party place. Should I hunt him down? But his name is not on the guest list so technically he was never there, he could be all the way across the world if you asked where he was yesterday."

Shalnark shrugged. "You know, Danchou wouldn't be that specific, although you think he'd be; and if his name wasn't on the guest list and you couldn't prove that he was there, yes, it's fine."

"Thank god..." She slumped down in her chair. "But then I'd feel bad in and out. Guilty for not completing Danchou's mission properly, and angry at myself that I didn't kill him and he's still alive in the world annoying someone else in who-knows-where."

"We have a lot of time before Danchou gives us our next mission." Shalnark suggested. "You could always try to track him down."

"Sounds fun..." Mizutsuki nodded slowly. "I think I will; soon, but not now. I'm not really in the mood of tracking down someone actually. I'm finally done from being an assassin. I don't want to start killing or tracking people again any soon."

"Says the one who woke up the whole city with her killing aura six a.m. in the morning..." Nobunaga muttered.

Mizutsuki shot him a glare and stomped on his foot under the table.

"Ow!" Nobunaga yelped. "What the hell?"

"There, there," Shalnark motioned for both of them to calm down. "Mizutsuki, members of the Ryodan are forbidden to fight each other. And if you want to settle something, you toss a coin." He handed her a gold coin with a printed spider on the table. "Keep that."

"That's not called fighting." Mizutsuki took the coin and slipped it into her backpack. "That's called playing with a toddler."

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M A TODDLER?" Nobunaga roared, threatening to pull his sword.

"C'mon now Nobunaga," Mizutsuki said. "You know that I have no advantage when it comes to fighting with members. So just give me some advantage when we're fighting on words. No need to go real on me."

"..." Nobunaga sat back down and scowled.

Shalnark seemed to be amused. "I knew that we recruited you in for a reason. You could be the lawyer for us when we get arrested!"

"I don't have a lawyer license."

"It's easy; kill the lawyer and take her ID. Then camouflage your face."

"Oh..."

"Anyways," Shalnark went on. "You said that you wanted to have something to do before our next mission and before you start hunting Pariston?"

"Yeah, just to change my taste a little. Takes up maybe a month or two, and not boring at all. After that if we still have time, I'm going to hunt down Pariston. He may pose as a threat to us in the future. And because I have some personal grudges against him, I want to kill him as soon as possible."

Shalnark thought for a second. "I know what you can do!" He exclaimed.

Both Nobunaga and Mizutsuki leaned in. "What?"

"The Hunter Exams! Those are fun. And it fits in your description of a free time activity completely. Tomorrow the Exams starts, why don't you go take a look?"

"I'm not really interested in the Hunter Exams..." She said quietly. "Besides, I don't even know where it is. It changes every year, right?"

Shalnark pulled a card out of his pocket. "Don't worry! Just Google it up on the Hunter Site. If we can't, just hack it!"

* * *

As soon as Shalnark finished swiping the card over the sensor Mizutsuki took it from him and examined it with Nobunaga. If Shalnark didn't stop them in time they'd have taken it to the National Science Research Center and have it X-rayed to see what wonders the little card held.

"It'll be very convenient if you have the Hunter License." Shalnark snatched his card back. "Not only you'd have a nearly unlimited amount of money and you'd have access to nearly all areas and information."

"I know that." Mizutsuki replied. "But seriously? You can learn where the location is just by the Hunter Site?"

"Well, the people who'd want to attend the Exams wouldn't have a Hunter partner with them..."

"What if they do?"

"Then good for them."

Mizutsuki rolled her eyes at the double meaning. "Yeah right, thanks Shalnark."

"You're welcome! And now use some hacker skills and put your name onto the sign-up list..." He clicked twice on the screen and typed in her name on the so-called sign up list. "How about you Nobunaga?"

Nobunaga shook his head furiously. "No-no-no. I refuse."

* * *

"Ahh, look, president Netero." Pariston pointed to the computer screen. "That's her."

"Ho-ho, can you be sure Pariston?" Netero stroke his beard with a small laugh. "Is she the amusing child you had told me about?"

"Yep!" Pariston flashed his shining teeth with a grin. "I knew that she was something! She massacred the Whole Camorra Mafia and five other Mafia leaders at the party! Not only she's amusing herself, yet the unknown _force_ she is loyal to is also amusing too. Seems like she had already met up with that _force_, and that _force_ has a Hunter member as well, otherwise she wouldn't be able to add her name onto the sign-up list after the sign-up date had been over."

"Ho~ Sounds fun. But you found the force and her first; they're your toys. Man I'm jealous that you have something to do~" Netero stroke his beard yet again.

Pariston replied with a smile and held up his phone.

* * *

Mizutsuki's phone rang and she jumped; _why would she receive a phone call when nearly all her contacts are dead? Was it from the Ryodan members? But it said _unknown number... "Should I pick it up?" She asked.

The two Ryodan members nodded. She pressed the speaker button and they listened. "Hello?"

"Hello? Mizutsuki-chan?"

She spewed out her coke and choked. Shalnark and Nobunaga's jaws dropped. _"Pariston?"_ They mouthed.

Mizutsuki nodded. "Why the heck do you have my number?" She snapped angrily.

"The Hunter Sites are useful, and you're fairly famous as well. It was easy! By the way, it really was a masterpiece you made at the hotel. If I stayed there an hour longer I'd be dead too."

"...What do you want?"

"Oh nothing really." Pariston whistled.

"If you have something to say, _say it_ and if you need to fart, _fart_." At this point Nobunaga walked away to laugh. Shalnark covered his mouth to not laugh at how straightforward she was. She could almost imagine Pariston's handsome face twitching on the other side of the phone.

"Well, I was browsing the sign-up list of the Hunter Exams just now, and a new name suddenly appeared; an A-rank criminal's name..."

She exchanged a glance with Shalnark and Nobunaga. "Wow, I wonder who it is." She said.

"It's you." Pariston replied. "You're really brave, when your masterpiece had just shocked the whole wide world, you entered the Hunter Exam. You'd be targeted by all the contestants before the Exam even starts." His tone was somehow annoyingly cheerful, like he can't wait to see her being ripped to pieces by the other people attending the Hunter Exam.

"That's just the kind of thrill I'm searching. But you know what would be better? KILL YOU."

"Well, I'm not planning on dying any soon, but if you want, I can arrange a meeting for us?"

"What do you mean?" She asked tentatively.

"This year's Hunter Exam is very different from other years; I've altered it to being _super hard_ since you're attending. If you pass it, I'll meet you."

In a second Mizutsuki made up her mind about the Hunter Exams. "...You'll regret it. Because I WILL pass the goddamned exam and I _WILL_ KILL YOU."

"Good to see that you have such spirit! The location is at Bennings, in a steak house next to the Tenjin elementary, a guide would lead you to the starting point if you meet him at the steak house, and I'll look forward to meeting you!"

Mizutsuki snapped her phone shut, cutting Pariston off and threw the device onto the ground then stomped on it. Her face was flush with anger. "THAT FUCKING BLONDIE...!" She roared. "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS? TOYING AROUND WITH ME LIKE THAT! I'LL KILL HIM IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!"

"Calm down!" Nobunaga cried and grabbed her shoulders while shooting glares at the other customers watching. Shalnark quickly went up. "Mizutsuki, don't worry, you will. If he's being a threat to you, he's being a threat to all of us. The Ryodan would dispose him sooner or later."

Mizutsuki scowled. "Tsk..."

* * *

**Okay, to be honest I have no idea where her tattoo is either, probably on her upper body. Shizuku had it on her left stomach, but in my own imagination, Mizutsuki had it on her left upper-back just over the shoulder. Does the Ryodan have rules to which member must have it tattooed where...? well, I'll leave it for readers to imagine for themselves; left shoulder or left stomach.**

**Annnnnnd yes, the second arc shall be the Hunter Exams! Are you excited yet? I hope you are. And remember the Ryodan member I said that'll play a big part in this? Sorry to break it to you but it's not Shalnark. Don't worry, all will end up like the original story and Shalnark would still be the only one of the Ryodan with a Hunter license; just wait and see how I make it that way 'smoothly'(Because for Ryodan members to _not_ pass the Hunter Exams is impossible; it'll probably be a minor plot twist.). AND I HAVE GIVEN OUT THE SECOND PART OF THE HINT! DO YOU KNOW WHICH RYODAN MEMBER IT IS YET!? **

**Review!**

**PS: In my mind, the arm wrestle ranking with her and Omokage in the Ryodan would be: Uvogin-Phinks-Franklin-Feitan-Machi-Chrollo-Mizuts uki-Bonolenov-Nobunaga-Shalnark-Omokage-Pakunoda-C oltopi. I don't know much about Omokage because I haven't watched the movie (that's why I ignored him completely on this.) If anyone knows his arm wrestle ranking please pm me!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Thanks for the ride, mister; really helped me a lot." She said and unbuckled herself. She stood up from the back seat. The man that gave her a free ride to Bennings from Lakeview gave her a thumbs up over the driver seat. "No problem, miss! If you need any help, just _te-!_"

She grabbed the man's forehead with her left hand and slammed it against the chair. Her right hand did the job of driving a scissor through the back of his throat. "Thank you for not recognizing me too," She said quietly. "But it'd be troublesome if you did later…"

She dragged the bloody corpse out of the car and stuck a sharp branch through the hole in the throat before she threw the body over the hill and down into the woods. Her feelings were apathetic. It never really mattered; no matter what kind of people she had killed. Good, bad, strong, weak, wealthy, poor, tall, short, fat, thin, black, white, Asian…

_Camouflage it as an accident…_ she thought. _I outta change my killing style once in a while to people can't track me…_

She climbed into the front seat of the car and pulled down the mirror. Reaching into her backpack she pulled out a small makeup kit she bought earlier in the morning. _I have to camouflage myself too. She thought. Bennings is a large city, there could be a lot of people that can recognize me; and I'm attending the Hunter Exams, who knows what kind of strong people would be there?_

She hated wearing makeup; that's why she never wore them. But this time she pulled on a wig and put on green contacts (Which irritated her eyes greatly.). Furthermore she put on large, black sunglasses and applied red lipstick and foundation that made her skin look three times whiter. If she applied one more layer she'd have been recognized as an albino.

She stepped out of the car and pushed it over the side of the hill as well – to make the _accident_ look more realistic; then proceeded to walk into the city.

As soon as she stepped into the city she realized that it was fairly different from Lakeview or Rivelle as well. When Rivelle is always raining and Lakeview has the perfect weather, Bennings was like the Sahara desert that never rained. Also, when Rivelle had the most hypocrites and the highest crime rates and Lakeview was normal, Bennings had the lowest among all three and nearly everyone here was too nice for her to handle.

She rolled up her sleeves and continued to walk, silently worried that her sweat would soak the fabric of her hoodie and makes it see-through. She hoped that if it does, somehow the twelve legs would look like normal six legs and the number in the middle won't show. She silently cursed her luck that her tattoo had to be at such an inconvenient spot.

If it wasn't for her long, tiring training back in the Mafia and the natural warm weather of Meteor City, she'd have fainted on the streets already. Although she was born and trained in hot temperatures, she had stayed in the cold and gloomy city of Rivelle for far too long she had gotten unused to hot weather.

Walking on the streets she could see girls walking around in bikini tops and boys with their top half naked. She could feel her own makeup melting and she hoped that the steak house Pariston mentioned had their AC on.

"Tenjin Elementary…" She muttered. "Steak house…" _Why the heck would a steak house be open in this kind of weather? Are all Hunters insane?_

She thought about it. _Pariston, Shalnark… yep they are._

After getting lost twice by taking three wrong turns (This story shall never be mentioned to others), she finally arrived at the Tenjin Elementary. And she searched around for the steak house.

She found a man standing behind the school walls and she ignored him as she walked by. The man, unlike most of the citizens, was coated from head to toe in heavy winter clothing; it was hot just looking at him.

"…Pedo?" She wondered out loud. Probably a pedophile stalker; she couldn't think of any other reason why a full grown man would wear heavy winter clothing on a hot summer day and stand outside an elementary school. She pitied the child that's going to get kidnapped. Perhaps she should do a charity project and kill the guy before any children gets kidnapped?

Making up her mind she turned around and walked towards the man; she slipped a knife out of her sleeve and decided to stab him in the stomach. There were no people on the road; it was a quiet neighborhood already and it was still class time… _Thank me kiddos…_ she thought.

"Hey…" She said. "Do you know… –?"

She was cut off by the man. "I've been waiting for you, Mizutsuki-san."

Mizutsuki blinked and the man turned fully around, pulling down his scarf and revealing two, foxlike eyes.

"Ooh…" She slipped the knife back into her sleeve. "A Kiriko?"

"Yes, Mr. Hill told me to lead you to the starting point."

_The location changes each year along with the stages of the exam. And it is impossible to find. In order to get to the site, the applicant must find a navigator; a person or magical beasts that can lead them to the exam site. I forgot that… damn, is my mind seriously not functioning already?_

"It isn't often that Hunter Exam applicants get to the starting point this way. How did you manage to persuade Mr. Hill? I know that he is not the kind of people to fall for seducing."

"He's the last one on my list of seducing…" Mizutsuki muttered. "We are friends… of some sorts." _We're such close friends I want to _**kill him**_…_

"Ooh…" Clearly, the Kiriko didn't believe her. "Let's go."

She nodded and followed the Kiriko around the corner of the school. Now that she knew that the Pedo was actually a Kiriko and her navigator, the heavy winter clothing didn't look as hot. It was ironic.

The steak house, to her relieve, had its AC on at full blast. The Kiriko walked to one of the chefs and held up two fingers. "Two steaks, half done, with an egg and some extra butter plus a few parsley by the side…"

The chef's eyes flashed. "Two steaks, half done, with an egg and some extra butter plus a few parsley by the side, coming right up!" He hollered to the deeper parts of the restaurant.

Mizutsuki looked around the restaurants and were amazed that there were still people eating steak on such a hot summer day.

Then her eyes fell on one certain customer.

The customer did not notice her, and continued eating his steak. In that split second, many things ran through her mind. The Kiriko walked towards her to lead her to the starting point located underneath the restaurant. Her eyes were still glued on the customer. _Why is he here? Is he here for the Hunter Exams as well? But it doesn't look like it; otherwise he wouldn't be eating steak so casually (How can he eat steak in such a weather anyway?). Or is he just casually eating steak here without knowing that the Hunter Exams are taking place right underneath his _foot_? Is he really that stupid? No, he wouldn't be, he would have noticed, just that he doesn't care. Yes, that must be it. This is so goddamn ironic…!_

Then, the next thought flashed in her mind and she quickly grasped it. Before the Kiriko could touch her shoulder and lead her away she stormed over to the customer and threw her arms around his neck. "_Phinks_!" She exclaimed with mock sweetness that made even herself want to throw up. "Goodness sake I thought that I won our bet but who knows; you're quicker! Are you waiting for me here? Thanks!"

Phinks choked and she hugged him even tighter (She was actually choking him with a headlock.). "But I won't lose next time! Haha!" She grabbed his fork and stuffed the meat into his mouth, choking him even more and making him unable to speak or defend himself from her nonsense. Phinks' eyes clearly indicated that he knew who she was but had _no idea_ _what_ she was doing or _why_ she was here. "C'mon, let's go now or we'll be late." She sang and flashed a grin at Kiriko.

Kiriko blinked and nodded slowly. _So she had a bet with that guy to who'd arrive at the starting point first? So _**that's**_ why she asked Mr. Hill to help her…_ "Okay, this way please."

Mizutsuki half dragged Phinks out of his seat and pulled him by the collar by his shirt. Phinks was still choking on his mouth full of steak.

"Good luck to both of you!" Kiriko nodded before closing the room door behind him, leaving them alone together in the elevator.

She slapped Phinks on the back and he finally managed to swallow. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" He roared. "WHY ARE YOU HERE?"

"Chill, Phinks, chill." She raised her hands. "I'll fill you in later, but now you're going to accompany me in the Hunter Exam."

"EXPLAIN NOW OR-! Wait, what did you say…?" He blinked.

"Don't tell me that from the time you started eating steak, you didn't notice that a bunch of customers came with a weird guy and asked for two steaks, half done, with an egg and some extra butter plus a few parsley by the side. And were led into rooms located in the back of the restaurant, and one came out and the other never did?"

"Yeah, I did notice that something was fishy, and there seemed to be an awful lot of noises below me. But I was too lazy to care. But WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" He grabbed her by her collar, causing her wig to fall sideways slightly. "WHY DID YOU DRAG ME INTO YOUR STUPID HUNTER EXAM? I'M NOT FUCKING INTERESTED!"

"C'mon, you have nothing to do right?" She freed herself from his grasp. "I'm doing this for a reason though. And I _will_ fill you in later. Anyways right now I _must_ pass, or else the whole Ryodan might be in danger."

That caught his attention. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, his expression changing from rage to being stern.

"Don't make me repeat myself again; I said that I _will_ fill you in later, and I _will_." She turned away as the elevator halted to a stop. "Right now, I must pass the Hunter Exam…"

Suddenly she felt that her neck being wrenched into a painful angle, and realized that Phinks was threatening to break her neck. "Explain _now_, or I'll break your neck." He hissed. "I don't care if you're already a member or not. I don't like you and I don't trust you. And I can easily fake it that you died during the Hunter Exam. Why would the Ryodan fall just because you didn't pass the Hunter Exam? Do you seriously think that you're _that_ important to us already?"

"Tsk…" From the second her neck was threatened to be snapped, she knew that she could never beat him in arm wrestling or martial arts. "Fine, fine… Can't you loosen your grip? I can barely breathe…"

Phinks let go of her; much to her surprise. But it was only because that the elevator door had opened. As soon as they stepped out Phinks threatened to break her neck again. "Say it, _now_."

"A guy named Pariston is targeting me…" She choked out. "I don't know why or what he is thinking, but to track me down he would track down the Ryodan first… He designed the Hunter Exam this year to be extremely hard because I was going to attend… and if I pass, he will meet me face to face… I only have that one chance to eliminate him before he eliminates me or the Ryodan!"

Phinks considered her words for a second, then slowly let go. "Even if what you've said is true, I can't attend this Exam because I didn't sign up. The number plates aren't enough."

Mizutsuki frowned and thought for a second, and then a light bulb shone bright above her head. "Wait for me," She said and walked off into the crowd.

Phinks waited there for her for about five minutes. He examined the Hunter applicants that filled up the underground place. Suddenly a round man with a square nose approached him with a warm smile that looked awfully sneaky. "Hello! You're a rookie too right? Do you want a can of juice? We may not be able to eat or drink very much once the Exam starts!"

Phinks was highly suspicious that there was something nasty in the juice. "Hey, old man, if you talk to me again… I'll kill you." He let out a wisp of killing aura and that was enough to let Tonpa feel a shiver down his spine. Yet soon he felt an even more nauseating aura coming from behind. Phinks was slightly impressed. If it was talking about killing auras of members; hers was no doubt the strongest.

Mizutsuki returned and tossed him a bloody number plate; her right hand was soaked in blood. Sitting on her left chest was her own number plate. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," She said. "It was hard finding a corner with no people."

Phinks snorted. "Hmph… fine, I'll play this game with you. But If I find it boring, I'm quitting."

"Go ahead. I just wanted to cause trouble for you."

"Doesn't matter, I had nothing else to do anyway. But you're treating me to steak after this; I didn't finish my steak."

Tonpa looked back and forth between the two, scared out of his mind; he could still feel the pressuring aura of the two rookies crushing him. Their expressions were both casual, but he could still see that if they wanted to kill him, they _could_ and with ease. _MONSTER ROOKIES_. His thoughts screamed. _And what did the cute girl just do? Did she already kill an applicant already? RUN!_ Tonpa stormed away in fear._ Don't get close to them or you'll die! Oh why am I always so unlucky?_

Mizutsuki stared at the running man. "Was that your friend?" She asked.

"No, just a fat guy trying to poison me with his juice. I think that he's the kind who kills Hunter Exam rookies for fun."

"Oh." She picked up a can of juice that was left behind by Tonpa, popped it open and took a thoughtful sip. Tonpa was still watching the monster rookies from afar. _Hell yes! The monster drank it! No matter how much of a monster you are, you won't even be able to stagger to the washroom before you wet your pants!_

Mizutsuki licked her lips. "Hmm, there are some strong laxatives mixed inside this juice."

"What? You can tell just by tasting?"

"No, but the acidity level of normal orange juices are at 3.5, however, this is at about 3.2 and it tastes slightly bitter. I used to drink this brand of juice every time I end my training session so I know. Besides, people like him wouldn't have enough guts to actually poison applicants to death."

"Unlike you…" Phinks muttered. "I guess that you just stabbed this poor guy and stole his number plate." The number was 54.

"I figured that you'd like a smaller number that means you came earlier. That's the smallest number I found." Mizutsuki tossed him another can of juice left on the ground. "You should drink some, it's just laxatives, surely it wouldn't affect you."

"Dude… you're the one whose attending the Exam, not me. Shouldn't _you_ be more careful?"

"I can control the pH level of all things I touch, normal poisons won't work once they've reached a certain level of acidity; once they do they'd become useless. And after walking around the place once, I can see that these applicants are nothing after all and I have nothing to worry about."

"It's not the contestants you should worry about, it's the test. And can you please take off that disguise? Your thick makeup makes me sick. And with the level of these guys, we can finish all of them within thirty seconds."

"…Yeah… the makeup makes me sick too." She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a bag of wet tissues. She pulled off her wig, sunglasses, and contacts. Then wiped off the foundation and lipstick.

Phinks' eye twitched. "You have no idea how different it looks before and after."

"That's the whole point of makeup; it makes you look like a different person." She crossed her arms with a smirk. "Now… we wait for the Exam to start."

Phinks cleared his throat with a stern but somehow excited expression. "Wrong."

"Hm?"

"Can't you feel it? From the second you took off your disguise, about twelve or thirteen auras changed. They probably recognized you from the TV. Those people would probably try to eliminate us as fast as possible."

Her hands fell to her sides. "So… we'll have to have a big cleanup first…" Her lips were turned upwards into a smile.

Phinks cracked his knuckles. "Well, lets clean up the place before the Exam Starts. See who can kill the most applicants?"

"Bet you a thousand Jennies and two boxes of cigarettes _I_ will. But don't do it too over; I don't want to get disqualified..."

* * *

******Haha, oh Tonpa, you so unlucky.**

**Heh, I have made a lot of referances in this story, and even cameos! Annnnd yes! The mysterious Ryodan member is Phinks, excited yet anyone? Huh? Huh? No? Alright, just me then... And don't worry, I have made up many good reasons (and excuses) of why Phinks did not get his license in the end. Perhaps he got it once and lost it later? Or he actually failed this? (OH NO). I just figured that; hey, if they're gonna cooperate in the next arc, we better give them some time to get friendly with each other! Otherwise they'd be like mutal enemies forever, that's not good. (Yes Feitan, that includes you as well.). This arc is partly based about how the two came to find friendship, more or less.(?)**

**The hints of _who the mysterious member was_ are that Feitan mentioned Phinks' location was at Bennings back in chapter 13, and Pariston said that the starting point is at Bennings as well! And for the _hints on the second arc_, well... The idea of her being a Hunter was mentioned a lot of times, if that counts... *sweats***

**And AW YYYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS! Obese-Gorilla I love your reviews! YOU ARE GOD. ALL MY REVIEWERS ARE GOD! (And yes, her name is kinda long so that's why I added it to the autocorrect thingy so whenever I type _Mizu_, _Mizutsuki_ would come out! Autocorrect actually has some uses other than making jokes when texting. And Yes! I agree, Sasori is way cooler! He even has a badass grandma!)**

**PS: The Tenjin Elementary thingy is a referance to another set of game/manga/anime I love called Corpse Party. It's so friggin bloody and dark and I love it! (I don't recommand people watcing it if they don't have a strong stomach.)**

**I shall continue to update so review!**


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey you," A voice said suddenly and footsteps approached them. Mizutsuki erased her killing aura and stood up straight to face the approaching man. "Huh?"

A guy who looked like he was a pro boxer was smirking greatly, cracking his knuckles. Like Vicky, every inch of his skin apart from his face was covered in tattoos. Dragons, tigers, phoenix, lions, scorpions, and many other animals she couldn't name. "You are the girl who massacred the whole Camorra Mafia right? Can't believe that I'd meet someone with such a big bounty on their heads before I become a Bounty Hunter…"

"…" Mizutsuki and Phinks were both feeling apathetic. If they were going to give marks on this guy's hardness to kill, they'd give like… 7/100.

"What? So scared you can't even speak now?"

"No, it's not that..." _You're not even worthy of being killed by me..._

"Whoa, Draville picked up a fight with the girl that massacred the Mafia!" One of the others hollered.

"Get her!"

"Go! Kill that bitch!"

Almost immediately a small crowd of people gathered around them and formed a little circle. Cheering for the pro boxer to beat her up.

"My, my, look at all this unwanted attention." Phinks muttered. "What are you gonna do now?"

Mizutsuki took a deep breath. "What are you talking about? I'll finish this guy of course. Didn't we say that we were going to have a race of who can kill the most applicants? I'm getting a head start on this."

"Damn."

She walked out into the little sumo circle the crowd had created for them. As she walked through the crowd the people slowly backed away and created a path. "Do you know who I am?" She deadpanned with her arms crossed.

"Of course, you are the Crystal star assassin that betrayed the Camorra Mafia. But you're just a little girl; you did not fight all the members present there hand-on-hand. You used a type of poison to burn their respiratory systems. You are weak in physical battle, that's what I gathered. And I am fairly good at it. You will die here, _today_."

"That ignorance would be the reason why you won't be able to attend even the first stage this year…" Mizutsuki breathed.

"_Hu-!?_" Before the man could react, she was already behind him. She grabbed the man's thick arms and twisted them to the back. Then she bent her body in the other direction towards the ground, and kicked him in the back of the neck. The man gasped and fell forward, landing on the ground with his chin landing first. Before he could stand up Mizutsuki slammed the sole of her shoe onto the back of his head, burying his face into the ground. There was a sickening snap and she was positive that she had broken his nose. "That was D-rank martial arts." She said and slipped the knife out of her sleeve. "Yes, I'm most talented with airborne poisons (Actually that's something called _nen_), but don't underestimate me just because I'm built small…"

Her killing aura exploded and filled up the whole basement of the Hunter Exam starting point. "Now, here's a question for you." A strand of hair fell down from behind her ears and into her eyes. "Do you want to die now, or not...?"

The killing aura that she just realeased had stunned the whole underground space into silence. And none of the others dared to move; fearing that if they do, the next victim would be themselves. No one stepped up to help the guy they had all been cheering for a second ago. Phinks snorted at the back of the crowd. _Please,she's someone that's able to trip _**me**_and break _**my**_ legs; and you say she's not good in hand-to-hand combat? Hope you've learned your lesson now, idiot..._

Due to his face being buried into the ground, Draville's answer to her merciless question was muffled. Mizutsuki raised her knife. "Well, I'll take that as an yes... _Die_." But just a second before she drove the knife into the back of Draville's neck, a hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. She blinked. Just _who_ was able to actually stop her? Her strength wasn't just normally large, she even beaten Nobunaga, a member of the Genei Ryodan!

"Ho-ho, don't be so anxious dear, you'll have plenty of time to fight each other once the Exam starts!" The one who stopped her was a jolly old man who was surprisingly fit and muscular for his age. He has a ponytail, a thick beard, and stretched earlobes with two piercings in both ears.

She felt the nen aura of the man slowly creeping crept up her arm, and the grip of the nen aura was like _iron_. With a small gasp she took back her arm and jumped away, narrowing her eyes. Even Phinks, who was far from where the two were, could sense the old man's overpowering aura. He was a powerful nen user; maybe even comparable to their Danchou.

"Isaac… Netero…?" Mizutsuki breathed. _The chairman of the Hunters' Association. What is _he_ doing here?_ Somehow she could already guess why the chairman was here.

"Ho! I'm honored that you recognize me, Mizu-chan! But this isn't right! You guys are supposed to fight _after_ the Exam starts, not _before_!" Netero was smiling on the outside, but on the inside, his mind was running with thoughts and calculations. _So this is the girl Pariston mentioned about. Such dark aura, she is for sure from the dark side of the society. And the wild, untamed look in her eyes; __I can recognize that look anywhere! S__he's from Meteor City! She could qualify for a Hunter no doubt. And that man who was with her… _His eyes searched for Phinks in the crowd. _He's very strong too, maybe even better than the girl. How come all of a sudden two strong people like them popped out of nowhere? Oh Pariston, you've found a _very_ dangerous toy this time…_

Mizutsuki realized that if she continued to act like the ruthless killer she was, she could get disqualified before the Exam even starts. Although it was unlikely. After deciding on the thought she started to act innocent. "But Chairman Netero!" She whined. "He was the one who tried to attack me in the first place! What I did was only self-defense! If I didn't he'd have harmed my fragile body!" She pouted and made puppy-dog eyes. At this point Phinks walked away to the edge of the room to pound on the wall and laugh. That could get into the top ten funny things he had seen in his life. The freaking sadistic, sharp-tongued, and blunt new member of the Genei Ryodan, pretending to be a weak and fragile girl. The only thing that can top this was that Feitan actually started to wear heels and drink milk to grow taller. The others didn't dare point out that she was lying... sort of.

Netero stroked his beard, amused. _Ahh, she can read the situation quite well. If she continued to act like this, even if I _don't_ want to, I'll have to eliminate her from the Exam! _"Hmm… well then, that _would_ be his fault. But you have to calculate your strength better next time, okay Mizu-chan?" He decided to play on with Mizutsuki's little act just for the fun of it. _No one's dead yet anyway!_ He thought.

"Okay." _Mizu-chan…? _Mizutsuki was speechless at her nickname; didn't Pariston or Shalnark called her something similar once before as well? Then she tried to beat one of them up. And then she walked away to find Phinks in the crowd, the audiences clearing a way for her once again. Netero watched as she disappeared into the sea of people. _What a high level of skill she had reached already, and she is still so young…_

With practical ease Netero pulled the nearly unconscious man out of his place on the ground and saw that there was now a hole the shape of a man there._ What strength… But she is someone Pariston found to make this year's Exam interesting, better leave her be and see how things turn out. _"Someone take this poor guy to the stairs over there, with injuries like this, he cannot attend this year's Hunter Exam anymore."

Two people, probably his friends, walked up to take the injured man away. The applicants who witnessed the skill and petrifying aura of Mizutsuki made a silent vow in their hearts._ Don't ever go near her or the guy she came in with... You'll die..._

Mizutsuki found Phinks standing in the corner, still seeming to be amused of her little act. "You outta say that in front of the other members next time." He said. "That's bound to give us a good laugh. _He'd have harmed my fragile body._" He made a poor imitation of her voice. "Since _when_ were you classified as fragile? Member Number Eight."

"How was that funny?" She asked. "Look at my arms, they're skin and bones; so technically, I _was_ telling the truth." However, when she said this, an amused grin was settled on her lips. "Just that he couldn't have harmed me even if he tried and I was nowhere near danger..."

"That guy was like two times larger than you and you threw him over and broke his nose. Then you acted all fragile and it-was-all-his-fault-it-was-only-self-defense. It's a wonder why the Chairman didn't arrest you then and there."

"I'm a key piece to make this year's Hunter Exam interesting. They only want to enjoy themselves; they wouldn't arrest me… yet."

"Huh…"

* * *

Isaac Netero walked to the front of the people and cleared his throat. "Hello, everybody who made it here! I'm very happy to meet you!"

Everyone quieted down to listen. Mizutsuki and Phinks had used Zetsu to hide from the chairman and other applicants right after their conversation had finished. Netero noticed and was impressed at their skills in Zetsu. "I am here to announce that there are some changes of the schedules in this year's Hunter Exam."

A wave of murmurs arose in the crowd. The two Ryodan members could already guess what Netero was going to say, because they knew the story behind it.

"This year's Hunter Exam will only have _one_ stage, but because that there is only one stage, this will be one of the hardest exams _ever_ in the Hunter Exam's history. Is everyone ready to take the risk of an 80% death rate?" When he said this, Netero's expression was unusually stern, that made the people gulp and understand that this always-smiling-and-joking-Chairman-of-the-Hunter-A ssociation was serious. Many faces looked unsure and some were already backing away towards the exit. Phinks yawned and Mizutsuki looked down to examine her nails, completely at ease. People who had confidence in their skills would never feel nervous or threatened just by words.

"Well, if you do, follow me…" Netero turned to walk away. The two Ryodan members did not hesitate and followed immediately after him. Seeing their calm expressions and casual stance, the others who weren't afraid of dying slowly followed after them.

"You're my partner in this." She said quietly. "I wonder what kind of obstacles they prepared to make it extra hard?"

"It doesn't matter, if anyone or anything stands in your path, kill it."

"Pardon?"

"There's nothing to worry about in this stupid Exam." Phinks shrugged. "Just treat it as a game. Shalnark passed it, and he said that it was ridiculously easy and fun."

"Your point?"

"This is something the Ryodan follows so I'll explain to you here, so listen up Newbie. Death is a solution to _everything_."

Mizutsuki's eye twitched. "Ehh, how did Danchou-sama figure that one out?"

"It isn't very hard once you thought about it. If there's someone standing in your way, kill him. Then you don't have to deal with him anymore. If there's a war; just kill both sides. Then there won't be anyone left to fight. If the world is being polluted; just blow the whole planet up, then there wouldn't be a world to pollute."

Mizutsuki was astonished by Danchou's intelligence and way of thinking. She had never thought about things that way before. She thought about the guy who blocked her way when she was trying to find the tattoo salon in Lakeview, the driver earlier in the morning, number 54 she just killed, and Draville; who survived, luckily…

* * *

"The Silverstone area was once one of the wealthiest areas in the world. Due to its nearly endless supply of Silver and other expensive metals lying in their underground mines. However, after a few centuries, the area met its fall by the Silver supply running out. Soon the area and the town become broke and everyone left, leaving the town to become a ghost town and the underground mines to become a nest for magical beasts and plants. And the underground mines were the location of this year's Hunter Exam" Netero pointed at a chart as they traveled to the starting point on an airship. "The mines stretch on for miles and cover the underground area of at least three mountains. Your task is to use the one month limit of time to walk through the mines and get to the other side of the three mountains. It is not too late to quit yet, because wireless devices do not work in the underground, the Hunter Association wouldn't be able to find you if you got lost, trapped, or even died down there. Once again, I hope that all of you make a wise choice."

The crowd was silent.

"So basically, it's an underground Labyrinth with absolutely no supply of light, where magical beasts and plants live, and nearly a 99.9% chance of getting lost?" Phinks asked in a hushed whisper. The others had grim expressions whereas they seemed completely at ease while analyzing their situation.

"Seems like it…" Mizutsuki whispered back. "I think that if we use En I think that it'd be no problem to know our surroundings; because lighters can only light up so much space, and if there are areas with natural gas there we might lit ourselves on fire. But the point is what if we get lost?"

"We can't just blow a hole through the mountain, because the whole maze might collapse and others might follow our trails. We can only walk it through like a good kid. Damn I wish Machi was here. Then we can use her nen thread to walk it." Phinks made it sound like Machi's only use was to guide them through mazes.

"With our high stamina, I think that it wouldn't be a problem because we have a one month time limit. But the problem is that we cannot use our abilities to the fullest extent while performing En at the same time. What if someone attacks us?"

"One use En and call out directions and the other would attack. For that we can rely on sensing killing auras too. If that does not work we'll resort to plan B, use your ability to change the acidity of the air and choke them."

"That'd be dangerous to you too." Mizutsuki said quietly. "Unless you're able to hold your breath for over ten minutes. Besides, our enemies aren't only the other applicants, the magical beasts are easy enough to detect, because they can actually _move_. But if it's plants that do _not_ move, even En would have problem detecting them; and plants don't have killing aura as far as I know."

"How about use _Gyo_ instead?" Phinks suggested. "Sure it'd be harder to see because barely any one of them have nen abilities, but if you focus enough you can still see the thin layer of aura around living things."

"Sure, then we'll use Gyo. Do you have your phone? I smashed mine. Perhaps cellphones can act as flashlights before it runs out of battery; it's a lesser risk than lighters."

"No, and why the heck did you smash your phone?"

"Not your business." She grumbled. "Then are you carrying weapons of any kind with you? Setting up traps would be an important job too."

"I only rely on martial arts and my nen ability. I know that you brought a knife, it's hidden up your sleeve."

Mizutsuki opened her backpack for him to see. "Not only that." She said. "Apart from the knife I always have up my sleeve, I usually carry a few more weapons. I have three throwing knives, a lighting bomb, a smoke bomb, a gas bomb, a normal bomb, and a pair of scissors. But I'll see what I can collect in there. If that's really a mine, there's bound to be some explosives or pickaxes; those are handy to make traps."

"Apart from the lighting bomb, none of the others seem like much use." Phinks muttered. "Why would we need a smoke bomb when we're already in darkness? And the gas bomb would affect us too; and we can never use a normal bomb or we'd be buried alive ourselves along with our targets. And _scissors_? What do they do? Help you trim your hair?"

"Be careful when you talk to me, or the next thing you know you could become bald…"

"Tsk…"

The airship slowly landed and the applicants who decided to take the risk slowly piled out. What loomed in front of them were the entrance of the dark mine that might become their graves. A cold, unpleasant wind blew pass them and Mizutsuki sniffed. "It smells bad in there." She said. "Someone or something had died in there already."

Phinks nodded. "From the taste of iron in the wind, someone or some other kind of animal had spilled blood in there. But the killing auras that are still lingering in the air mean that the culprits are magical beasts instead of human. Most humans know how to hide their killing auras for most of the time, it's only being skilled or not."

"Which means, that there are carnivorous species of animals inside the mine. This is getting exciting…"

"Ditto... Shalnark's right, this _could_ kill time and it's entertaining."

Tonpa, who had been eavesdropping on the Ryodan member's conversation, sniffed the air as well. _The heck… what are they talking about? Iron taste in the air? Killing auras? Who in the world can sense those things? Are they even human? They probably are but they are so strong it's ridiculous… Okay, I've decided, I'm staying as far away from them as possible. _

Besides him, a lot of others had eavesdropped on their conversation as well. Those people had already been paying attention to them since long ago. Of course, the two _did_ notice that they were being watched, only that they were too busy to care. But now the gazes of those people seem to burn through their clothes and onto their backs. And it was irritating them.

"Okay! If everyone is ready, then good luck! We'll be waiting at the other side of the mountains!" Netero hopped back onto the airship and disappeared into the sky.

Mizutsuki tugged on his sleeve. "Let's go, Phinks." She said quietly. "It'll be troublesome once others set up traps along the routes. Let's just follow the tracks of the mine carts first, then we'll decide what to do..."

"Yeah." The two ignored the glances of disbelief that were given from the other applicants and entered the abandoned mines. The smell of rotten wood, blood, moisture, old dynamites, and animals filled their nostrils more and more as they ventured deeper.

But even after they entered the dark, clammy space of the mine tunnels, the piercing gazes on their backs did _not_ disappear…

* * *

**AWWWW HEELLL YESSSSSS! Another Reviewer! I love your review so much Cocoamilo! I wish that I could just reach through the computer and hug you! (Why aren't we in Digimon?). Now that I've got more support, I will try to make the story as exciting as possible! Rawr!**

**But oh my god, this is such a bad chapter! *buries face in shame* Even _I_ think that this chapter is boring (I'm so terribly sorry); I need better conflicts! Oh dear god of fanfiction authors, please give me power! And to think that I made it so exciting the chapter before... But yes, this is just the slope we take when we're going up the roller coaster! Better plots are yet to come! I won't disappoint you next chapter, I swear on my life! (Unless an unexpected Writer's Block hits...)**

**And because I'm such a useless author, I think I'll be auditioning for ideas of monsters inside the place. Or maybe a giant boulder would just come rolling down the hallway and squash them to spaghetti sauce after they remove a sacred piece of statue... Hold on that sounds awfully familiar; oh yeah right, that's Indiana Jones. My bad.**

**And the paragraphs ideas of _41 to 48_ (If I didn't count them wrong) belongs to my dear reader and Reviewer Obese-Gorilla! I just loved the review so much I wrote the idea into the story! (Oh my). I'm actually a very flexible author, and I like to write what my readers like, as long as they can fit into the original plot, I'd be happy to take any suggestions for arcs or lines!**

**Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'M SO SO SOOOO SORRY FOR DRAGGING THE UPDATE! BUT NOW I WILL STOP TALKING SO (please) ENJOY THIS OVERDUE NEW CHAPTER OF MINE.**

* * *

"This seems like a pretty normal mine to me…" Phinks said as he held up his lighter to light up the surroundings.

Mizutsuki nodded slowly. "Well, we've been here for only six hours, we'll have to go deeper into the mine to search for paths that'd lead to the other side."

"Tsk… where are the monsters they promised?" Phinks muttered. "I'm bored by this place already…"

"You can always go back the same way." She suggested. "We haven't encountered any branch paths so far, it'll be easy enough to find your way back."

"Do I look like the kind that'd chicken out? Don't be ridiculous, I'm just bored."

"I was just saying…" Mizutsuki muttered. "And it seems like that we are the only group that chose this path. There were five branching paths at the starting point; we chose the one farthest to the left. But since that there are no branching paths or auras behind us, it's very clear that we're the only ones along this route. Which means that, we could be walking into a dead end, or we're taking the only path to go through this mine."

"Ugh, what's the rush," Phinks rolled his eyes, looking relaxed. "We have a whole month. You're not actually worried are you?"

"What's wrong with being worried?" Mizutsuki snapped. "If I don't kill Pariston this time, when would be the next chance to kill him?"

"…Did you say that with your personal grudges in thought, or the safety of the Ryodan?"

"My grudge takes up 70%, the rest is the Ryodan."

"Tsk… Well, we know that we are strong, and it would be easy for us."

"I don't need you to tell me that! I know." Mizutsuki said. "But…"

"But what?"

"The hard part for us isn't monsters; it's about finding the way." She deadpanned. "Have you ever heard of the right hand theory?"

"What's that?"

She kicked him in the leg; Phinks guarded it with Ko just in time to prevent damage. "Are you stupid or what? It's a way to navigate mazes. You put your right hand on the wall and walk."

"In short, you walk through _the whole maze_. Yeah I know…" Phinks rolled his eyes. "Although we have a month's time; it's not enough. But even so, there's no need to rush. Even if you finished the game number one, you wouldn't be able to see that guy until the whole Exam is over."

"… You're right… As much as I hate to admit. I'm being too anxious, I must calm down..." She closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

Phinks whistled. "I didn't know that you knew how to admit you're wrong."

"Huh?" She stopped taking deep breaths.

"You strike me as the stubborn type."

"Same goes for you."

In that split second, some sort of understanding passed through them. They both understood that – they will _never_ come to like each other. But being able to _trust _each other was another story.

"Hey Phinks." Mizutsuki said suddenly. "How long have we been walking?"

"I dunno. Eight hours probably."

She dug the coin Shalnark handed to her out of her pocket and tossed it into the air. Covering it as she slammed it onto her forearm. "Head or Tail?"

"What's this supposed to mean?" Phinks paused in walking, Mizutsuki paused too. "If it's Heads, we'll run. If it's Tails, we'll continue walking…"

"Heads." Phinks crossed his arms.

Slowly, Mizutsuki removed her hand that was covering the coin. "Heads…" She said then stretched her arms. "Well then," She cracked her neck and started to warm up. "Unlike you, who is wearing a comfortable jogging suit, I'm wearing denim shorts and sandals. Go slowly please."

"Like I care." Phinks turned around and started to run, leaving her behind.

"_Hey_!" Mizutsuki snapped and followed. They were both running at the superhuman speed that the Ryodan members were required to have. In fact, they had decided that the rail tracks on the flat ground was too annoying and had resorted to running horizontally on the walls.

"I didn't think that you can keep up." Phinks called.

"Don't underestimate me, eyebrow-less idiot." She shot back.

"Tsk…" A vein bulged on Phink's forehead. "But if it's comparing speed, there's no way you're able to beat Feitan."

"How do you know?" She spat. "This is only half my speed."

"It's _barely 20%_ of Feitan's full speed." Phinks replied. "Too bad Newbie, you're not the fastest in the Ryodan."

"If Feitan's the fastest, what are you? The eyebrow-less? HA!"

"Don't make me go over there and snap your neck…"

"You couldn't even if you tried. I know that you'd either use your left hand to grab the lower jaw of people or the lower back of their heads. Your right hand only grabs the lower back of heads, and when you use your both hands, you use your left hand to grab the lower jaws and your right to grab the left side of the victim's head. All I have to guard is my lower jaw and the lower left of my head, then you'd have no way to snap my neck."

"Che… When did you realize that?"

"Oh nothing, when you tried to kill me in the elevator, and when you snapped the necks of two of the guys that were tailing us. Exactly what were they thinking? Did they actually think that we'd just create a road for them to the success of passing the Exam? No way…"

"Normally, people would have problems recognizing my killing patterns. I'll admit, you got some skill there."

"So I guess all the Ryodan knows how you kill?"

"They don't say it out loud like you."

"Oh."

"Speaking of the people who were tailing us…" Phinks said suddenly. "Where are they?"

"Yeah right…" Mizutsuki said with a glance back at the tunnel they came through. "I thought that there'd be more than just two… Because when we entered the mine, there was at least eleven more killing auras on our backs…"

Phinks was about to say something when he changed his mind. "Oy! Stop!" The two of them skidded to a stop, the sole of their shoes burned two millimeters off and the moist stone left two burning tracks. "Finally, the first branching roads." Somehow he seemed happy at the thought.

Before them stood two different ways; each one equally as creepy as the other. Not that they were afraid of the creepy crawlers down there. This time it was Phinks who took out the Ryodan's coin. "Heads or Tails? Heads is left, Tails is right."

"People normally subconsciously pick left when they cannot decide. Tai-…" Mizutsuki didn't finish her word before a piercing scream echoed throughout the mine tunnels.

She exchanged a glance with Phinks after the scream. There was an awkward silence before she uncrossed her arms and gave him a stern stare. "Screw the right-left thingy; I'm going to check that out."

"What a coincidence, I just had the same idea..." Phinks said in a sarcastic tone as he slipped the coin back into his pocket and the two of them ventured left.

* * *

Beans bursted into the office of chairman Netero and screamed at the top of his lungs, looking horrified. "Chairman!" He exclaimed. "How could you send them to THAT place?"

Netero looked up from his workout on the carpet and stood up straight (He was standing upside down on his fingertips.) "Hmm? What's wrong with the mine Beans?"

"That's the living place of the magical Beast _Nosferatu_! An A-rank isolated species! Those beasts are too hard for the applicants to handle, much less find their way out at the same time! We gotta send a rescue team in to see if anyone survived!"

"Ahahah, it's only been nine hours after the Exam started, I think that it'll be alright."

Beans looked like he could ask a cat for advice. In fact, a cat _could_ give much more advice then this Chairman Isaac Netero right now. "But the Silverstone Mine is the largest mine in the world! They have no food, water, weapon, or anything else! And they have to survive the attacks of the Nosferatu!" The short man looked devastated. "None of them would be able to survive; and this Exam hardness is _waaaaayyyy_ out of the leagues for them. Even pro Hunters with nen abilities have trouble fighting them! What can the applicants do?"

Netero stroked his beard. "I've asked them if they're ready to take risks. They are there now because they agreed. Wait one month, maybe the answer would be surprising." In his mind he thought of the girl and her company. _There would be only one passing the Exam this year. Though if the man did sign up properly and his name is on the applicants list, he would become a Hunter too. _He thought._ And we already know who the one successor is; I wonder how you are finding a known answer amusing, Pariston..._

"But chairman!" Beans wailed desperately. "You can't just _leave_ them there! The government would be mad at the Hunters Association!"

"Ehh, but it wasn't me that came up with the idea of sending them to Silverstone..."

"_Huh_?"

"It was me," Pariston walked in with a bright smile. "Don't worry, they have all agreed to the terms and conditions of the Exam. So even if they died, it alright! Although I do apologize for not alerting you sooner, Beans."

"That's not the problem!" Beans wailed. "The Silverstone area, although abandoned, is at the very top of the list of Restricted Areas in the government! Even pro Hunters with their license are forbidden to go in there unless you get through a very complicated letter process! How did you-?"

Pariston's smile was nice and pleasant; but Beans felt a wave of negative aura wash over him, making him feel cold and unprotected. It wasn't for a second before he realized that it was Pariston's aura.

_This man... Is dangerous...!_ The thought flashed in his mind. But as soon as the aura disappeared, so did the thought as well.

"It's alright," Pariston said. "I persuaded the government to let this year's Hunter Exam take place in the Silverstone mines. There are no consequences for me _or_ the Hunters Association."

"Why did you do that anyway?" Beans cried. "Why didn't we do this year's Hunter Exam like how we previously planned?"

Pariston pondered for a sec. "Because... It's fun?" To be honest he didn't know either. He knew that for 99.9%, Mizutsuki would survive and become the only Hunter of year 283. But here's the paradox; why would he find the story fun if he already knew the end? Perhaps he was excited to what their little 'date' would be like? At least you can expect a lot of blood.

"FUN?" Beans cried.

Pariston laughed it off. "Well, well, who knows? Maybe this year, there will be some monster applicants!"

"What..." Beans looked sick. "I think I'm gonna go lie down for a while before working this out..."

"Go ahead." Netero returned back to his workout, standing upside-down using two fingers. "Sleep tight Beans!"

"...Night, I guess..." Beans walked out of the room, followed by Pariston seconds after. "Oh dear..."

* * *

"Please... Help me..." The applicant moaned and reached out a bloody hand towards them. Multiple pieces of flesh was ripped from his limbs and it seemed like that there was a fatal damage in his windpipes as well, since they can barely make out what he was trying to say. As many bloody battle fields they had been in, they had to admit; it wasn't a pretty sight.

"That looks nasty," Phinks said. "I wonder what turned him into this state, it's been only like, nine hours since we've entered the mine and one died already? Jeesh."

"We're not all strong like you, Phinks." Mizutsuki said sarcastically and the knife dropped out of her sleeve.

The bleeding man gasped. "No, no! Don't kill me, please! Help me!"

"This IS helping you godammit." She snapped. "Die slowly in pain or die quickly without-as-much pain; which one?"

"No, I don't wanna die...!"

"You're a fucking Hunter Exam applicant right? Show your spirit! You wouldn't be here if you didn't have guts, where are your guts now? Back home with mommie?"

"Eeep..."

Phinks, thinking that she is taking too long, pushed her aside and helpfully snapped the guy's neck. "I hate killing with such a bad aftertaste."

"Then why did you?" Mizutsuki asked. "_I_ was going to kill him."

"You were taking too long, why bicker? Just kill."

"I hate people with such a weak will. And I couldn't help giving an lecture." She answered as she stood up. "Saying that they'd be fine, refusing all help, and ask people to save them when they are dying. It's fucking disgusting, this ignorance..."

Phinks looked genuinely surprised. "What surprising honesty... Never thought that I'd hear something deep from you."

"I was just stating the truth."

"Meh, but I liked that part: _"Show your sprit until the end!"_. That was pretty badass."

"Are you feeling alright in the head Phinks?" She asked in a dead tone. "Never thought that you'd compliment me..."

"Hmph... I wonder what lies ahead?"

"We'll know sooner or later."

"The thing that did this better be strong, otherwise it wouldn't be fun."

* * *

**WAAAA I'M SO SORRY! *kneels down*. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR DRAGGING THE UPDATE! BUT I HAVE REASONS SO PLEASE DON'T THROW THOSE TOMATOES YET!**

**First, I had a Writer's Block on the monster design and how the plot of the Exam would go. (I think that I got the idea now probably) I rewrote this chapter three times! Second, I had to visit my grandpa in the hospital after surgery so I didn't have much time to write. Third, I was working on a Mizutsuki-Character-Design drawing; using _Paint_. I'm a naturally slow drawer, plus Paint... is just Paint, so the work just kept dragging on!**

**Once again, please forgive me!**

**PS: Please review still, please...**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for your support for my grandpa, Obese-Gorilla! He's perfectly fine now, otherwise I wouldn't be here either. He's back to his good ol' life of playing poker, taking naps, and watching TV with absolutely _no_ signs of being uncomfortable to the point that sometimes I wonder was he really sick or did he just went into the hospital for fun...**

* * *

The two Ryodan members continued to walk along the tunnel, they have now resorted to using En because they were in the deep parts of the mines and they didn't want to accidentally cause a backdraft explosion. As strong as they are, they wouldn't be able to survive having tons of earth above them. They were not too sure about Uvogin, however...

They met another branching road and Mizutsuki reached for her coin. "I sure do wish Machi was here..." She sighed. "Her ability would really come in handy..."

"You're making it sound like that the only thing she's good at is leading people through mines."

"You said something familiar a while back..." She said nonchalantly. "Machi is my buddy. Unlike you."

"Pffft, you're buddies with the Ice Queen?"

"We're good with each other," She replied. "And we have a lot in common."

Phinks frowned. "Hold on, I think that someone said something similar along that line before... Back when you first met the Ryodan; or was it me...? Anyways someone said that you're similar to Machi in a few ways."

"Retard... How am I similar to her then?"

"Intuition probably."

"Huh?"

"You two rely on instinct more than actual information or analyzing."

"Oh shut up." She rolled her eyes. "Hurry up, which way? Heads or Tails?"

"Heads."

"So let's go left." She adjusted the bag that was resting over her shoulder. "I think that there'd be something fun in the right tunnel actually."

"Why?"

"Intuition."

"What did I just say..." Phinks rolled his eyes.

Mizutsuki flashed a triumphant grin. "Well?" She asked. "How are Machi's intuitions then? Is she correct often?"

"As long as I've known her, she had never been wrong."

"Damn, that's badass..." She nodded slowly. "And I guess that Shal is the analyzing information type?"

"Obviously. He's the strategist of the Ryodan."

"So if Shal is the strategist, what is Machi?"

"Soldier and Healer. She can sew broken limbs back with her nen thread."

"Sounds cool." Mizutsuki nodded. "How about Feitan?"

Phinks frowned. "Feitan?"

She stared at him apathetically. "Is there something wrong about me asking thing about Feitan?"

"I thought that you hated Feitan."

"I hate him."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Just answer. I need to know the abilities of my enemies before I kill them..."

...

...

...

There was an explosion of killing aura that shook the whole mine and the two clashed with each other. Phinks' left had was grabbing her left jaw, yet she had managed to block down the attack with her knife in between her neck and his hand. So that if he dared move his hands to snap her neck, all his fingers would be cut off by the sharp blade.

His right hand reached to punch her in the abdomen and she guarded the fist with her right hand. The two stood still there for a good few minutes, glaring murderously at each other and continuing to rattle the cave with their killing auras.

Finally, both of them decided to call off the fight.

"You little bitch... Don't get too cocky."

"Stupid pharaoh, don't underestimate me…"

"Hey! You guys!" A third voice called and the two of them looked up to see a round figure stumbling towards them in the darkness.

"Should I put my knife away yet?"

"No." Phinks held up a hand and pushed her behind.

"Oh my god that was scary, thank god they found my backpack first before they found me. If they hadn't drank the laxative juice I wouldn't have bought enough time to escape! I would have been dead by now if I… hadn't…" Tonpa's jaw dropped at the sight of the Ryodan members. "Uhh… hi! Umm… I think that I'll just get going…" He tried to slip pass Phinks but Mizutsuki, who was hidden within the shadows, reached out a leg and tripped Tonpa.

"Um… Hi miss! You're looking really good today…!" Tonpa was in fact scared out of his mind right now. If it wasn't for his thick personality he would have stopped talking and just started crying for mommy. Slowly he started to stand up.

Mizutsuki, with a quick move was behind him and she tripped him again; Tonpa landed on his chin and Mizutsuki swiftly pinned his hands behind him. "What should I do? Phinks." She asked. "Kill him, torture him, torture _then_ kill him, or let him go?"

"Let me go!" Tonpa wailed. _Why am I so unlucky? Why did I meet these monsters instead of other people?_

Phinks crossed his arms. "I like the third one, but let's add an interrogation process to it…"

"'Kay." She tighted her grip on Tonpa's arm and Tonpa felt his bones crack.

"AHHHHHPLEASEDONTHURTMEILLTELLYOUANYTHING! (**Ahh please don't hurt me I'll tell you anything.**)"

"How can we trust you?" Phinks demanded. "You tried to poison us before."The desperate look on Tonpa's face was hilarious. It wrote _Useless Adult_ across his face. Phinks was stifling laughter.

Mizutsuki, on the other hand, snickered. "With _laxatives_." She added in a sarcastic tone. "If you wanna poison someone next time, use real poison. Laxatives? What are you, five?"

Tonpa gulped. "I don't want to kill anyone." He protested. "I just want to crush rookies."

She exchanged a glance with Phinks. Phinks nodded, having guessed what she wanted to do. "Answer my questions truthfully, or I'll break your arm for real." She said.

_Oh my god this is bad! _Tonpa wailed in his head. _They aren't joking! I just know it! This weak looking girl was able to beat up Draville half-dead and massacre the Mafia for goodness sake! I'll really die this time. Oh god no, wait, calm down. Tonpa, you're the rookie crusher, you've been through the Hunter Exams far more times than they did; you know that routines. Rookies always fail in the end, these two just happened to be stronger than most rookies, that's _all_. It doesn't change the fact that they _are_ rookies._

He had no idea that the two in front of him weren't normal rookies. Deciding that he should keep cool, he took a deep breath. "Eh…ehehe…" He started laughing. "What're your names, miss and mister?"

Mizutsuki's gaze was hollow and her eyes looked dead. Which meant that she was on killer mode; she could spill blood with ease once she's entered this mode. "Old jeezer," She deadpanned. "Don't talk without permission… The next time you do, I'll kill you. First question: How many people have you seen ever since you entered the mine?"

Tonpa's previous theory of they-are-just-rookies was crushed. "Eh… Five or six maybe? I'm not sure…"_ Who the hell would lie in this situation?_ He cried desperately in his head.

Mizutsuki nodded. "Okay… second question: Which route did you take when you entered?"

"The second from the right… Along with the Amori brothers. But we split up at the second branching road…"

Her grip tightened. "Don't lie," She hissed. "Tell the truth…"

Phinks whistled._ She's scarier than Feitan! Although her interrogating skills are nowhere near…_

"AHH!" Tonpa screamed. "I was!"_ How did she know I was lying!?_

"No you weren't. Before you saw us, you were calling out to two other people whom you thought we were. As far as I know, there are three Amori brothers. Who were you calling for?"

"I was looking for Ceezu and Slie!"

"Okay, I don't know them. Next question: How many branches did you encounter along the route you choose?"

"Four…! Ow-ow-ow…!"

"The pattern you used?"

"Right-left-left-right!"

"Why?"

"Because I was following the sound of water…!"

At this point, Mizutsuki and Phinks exchanged a glance. _Water?_ They thought in unison.

"You have to walk downstream when you encounter a water source underground…" Mizutsuki said quietly. "I see… Where's the water now?"

"I went down there… and it's filled with… _them_…!"

"Who is _them_?" Phinks deadpanned while cracking his knuckles. "Give me a _name_."

"I don't know!" Tonpa exclaimed. "But there were many corpses down there at the water! They had killed applicants already! I only got out because they noticed my laxative juice first and drank it before they noticed me!"

"How can you be sure that there were corpses?" Mizutsuki continued to interrogate. "If _they_ noticed your juice first, it means that you put it at an obvious place for them to notice. Probably dropped it there somehow, on purpose or not. And then you hid somewhere close to the exit to come stumbling back here without being followed by _them_. If they didn't notice you in the corners, it means that they don't care about the corners. Therefore indicating that the corpses of the dead applicants could only be found in the wide, open, and obvious places. But then again, a lighter can only light up so much. Plus there are dangers of natural gas down there. You cannot see nor make out noises; how do you know there were corpses?"

"I can smell it!" Tonpa exclaimed. "I smelled blood!"

Phinks sniffed the air. "I don't smell any blood. And there aren't killing auras left back in the air either…" He shot a glance at Mizutsuki, who seemed to be thinking.

"We're on the upwind," She said. "The _they_ he mentioned is at the downwind. It's not weird that we couldn't smell, but then again; how come? If there had been some killing going around, the must be some killing aura left in the air. But I can't feel it."

"How the hell can you feel killing auras?" Tonpa spat. "That's just an adjective made up to describe people!"

"Hmm…" Phinks nodded. "I thought that we said that the next time you speak, we'd kill you…"

"Uh-oh…" Tonpa gulped.

Mizutsuki pulled a long string of ropes and a miniature bomb out of her backpack. "How can you feel killing auras?" She asked as she started tying a complicated knot. "It's simple, like this." With that said, her killing aura exploded once again, this time shocking Phinks even. But Phinks took a deep breath and guarded his thoughts. However, Tonpa, with no knowledge of nen, took the full impact.

He felt nauseated. It was like being thrown into the washing machine with old grandma-perfume and being rolled around a trillion times. After that getting forced to ride a G-5 rollercoaster. It felt like that someone had gouged out his brain and dumped it in ice cold bleach. His body felt like there was a thousand tons crushing down on it.

Mizutsuki then erased her killing aura and finished tying the bomb onto the rope. Tonpa fell to his knees, too petrified to move. With no problem she set up the bomb's timer and tied him up. "Ehh, if you can recover from my killing aura, you might be able to stop the bomb just in time. We're going to explore that tunnel you came from. Careful, or those things might just happen to wonder by and eat you…"

With a slight smirk she walked away, Phinks followed. They left Tonpa petrified in the darkness.

"Don't just flash your killing aura like that." Phinks said. "You might not feel a thing, but as far as I know, your killing aura is the most nauseating and petrifying one among the Ryodan."

"Oh, joy." She clapped her hands. "I guess that having to press down my killing aura for assassinating missions so many times, it pented up inside me."

"The heck…" Phinks looked mystified. "That doesn't make sense at all."

"It wasn't supposed to."

"Hmph…"

It wasn't for long before they encountered a path that went straight down; about 75 degrees away from being horizontal. It was originally a normal, smooth path going down, but due to many earthquakes and erosion, the road started to bend down, forming a deep hole within a cave. It was a wonder how Tonpa managed to climb up – he must have been pretty desperate then; adrenaline makes you do _amazing_ things.

Phinks jumped down first, not bothering to walk down. And Mizutsuki followed after. Guarding their legs with their aura they managed to reduce the impact to the smallest. The two of them stood up straight and immediately performed En to sense their surroundings.

It was pretty normal, like a collapsed part of the mine. But now down here, they could clearly smell the taste of blood in the air. Phinks walked around. "Where are the monsters…?" He started to say.

Almost immediately Mizutsuki felt something dash pass through her En; but it wasn't running towards _her_, it was running towards Phinks. The speed was incredible; perhaps comparable to a Cheetah. Phinks of course, immediately noticed the nearly silent footsteps of the creature and started to wind his arm. But Mizutsuki was quicker – she pulled the throwing knife out of her backpack in one swift move and threw it towards the running creature.

There was a whoosh of the flying blade and then a painful scream of the monster. Warm blood sprayed their faces (Something they were used to.) and heated the air.

"The he-"

In a flash she slapped her hand over his mouth and gave him a death glare, although she knew that he couldn't see it in the darkness. _G-Y-O_. She wrote the three letters on his palm. Phinks took a second to understand and focused his aura onto his eyes.

She had formed a sentence with her aura. She could feel it precisely now. The Ryodan never performed massacres, even when they did; they do not stay around the crime scene for too long. Whereas she always stayed behind in the crime scene after a massacre. The whole atmosphere of the place was tense, and the warm smell of blood wrapped around her like a wet blanket under the sun. She could feel multiple pairs of eyes focusing on her then turning away; much to her confusion.

_These creatures are dangerous._ Her sentence wrote.

* * *

**~OMAKE: Phinks didn't turn in his homework (based on 1999 ver)~**

One day, Phinks didn't turn in his homework at Hunter X Hunter academy. The class leader Shalnark asked why didn't he turn in his homework, to which Phinks replied:

"Why should I turn it in? Even if I did, maybe I copied it from others" (Coltopi, who always made copies of things, started to sweat.)

"Even if I did write it, it doesn't mean that I'd remember it." (Shizuku looked up from her book, looking lost.)

"Even if I remembered it, it doesn't mean that it'd be on the test." (A roll of thunder rang behind Pokkle, who was studying books for the Hunter Exams.)

"Even if I passed the test, it doesn't mean that I could use that skill in real life." (Chrollo, who had his nen sealed away, flinched.)

"Even if I managed that skill, it doesn't mean that I could graduate either." (A sad wind blew by poor Zushi.)

"Even if I graduated, it doesn't mean that I could find a job." (Kurapica grew silent.)

"Even if I can find a job, it doesn't mean that I can raise my child." (Ging's face started to twitch.)

"Even if I raised my child, it doesn't mean that he'd be a nice, obediant kid." (Killua's mother started to weep.)

"Even if the kid is obediant, it doesn't mean that he'd concentrate on his schoolwork." (Milluki was too busy in his game to hear.)

"Even if the kid does concentrate on schoolwork, it doesn't mean that he'd be able to earn money for himself." (Gon blushed slightly.)

"Even if the kid can earn money, it doesn't mean that he is young anymore." (Biscuit started cracking her knuckles.)

"Even if he is young, it doesn't mean that he is strong." (Leorio laughed dully.)

"Even if he is strong, it doesn't mean that he'd have a good-enough opponent." (Hisoka's killing aura poured out.)

"Even if he does have a opponent, it doesn't mean that he'd win in a fight." (Nobunga, who just lost an arm-wrestling match to Gon, started to unsheath his sword.)

"Even if you won, you'd die in the end anyway." (Uvogin rose from the dead and roared in anger.)

"So?" Phinks shrugged. "Why should I turn in my homework?"

Everyone rushed up to beat the crap out of poor Phinks: _"Don't drag us in just because you were lazy yourself!"_; and then the eyebrow-less pharaoh became the brightest star in the sky. **The End.**

* * *

**Okay, the omake was kinda stupid. But meh, whatever...**

**I feel like I'm kinda dragging the chapters; but I was planning to let the second arc have at least 8-10 chapters so I think it's fine. Aaaaannnd the _Nosfer-something_ reveals it's face in the next chapter! (I can't even remember the name of my own monster...) Are ya guys excited yet? Huh? No? Just me than...**

**And to be honest; about the second arc, I think that the exciting plot isn't the Hunter Exam _itself_. It is about what will happen after the Exam (you guys don't need me to explain what right?).**

**And did you know that Mizutsuki's full name: Mizutsuki Shimo, could be broken up into three parts? Mizu, Tsuki, and Shimo? Mizu=Water, Tsuki=Moon, and Shimo=Cloud. So her name literally means: Water-Moon Cloud! I've been meaning to say this for ages but never got the chance.**

**I know that I've been a crappy author lately, so I uploaded 2 chapters today! Turn the page, folks!**


	21. Chapter 21

_These creatures are dangerous. _Her sentence said. _We don't have enough preparation. We have to leave, _now_._

Phinks grabbed her collar. "Are you _crazy_?" He hissed.

There was a sudden snarl from all directions and multiple noises of creatures crawling around, circling them.

"What the hell is going on?" Phinks asked again, this time in a lower tone. Even still the creatures seemed to stop and perk up their ears.

"This mushy stuff we're standing on are human corpses." She hissed to him, finding it too troublesome forming it into nen words. "There are a lot of them. And have you seen their _speed_? It's nearly as fast as us! Inside the darkness _they_ have the advantage! Are you just too thick or what?"

"What's the problem? Just kill all of them! Don't you remember the _rule_? Death is the solution to everything? Kill those fuckers and we're out."

"That rule only applies when all conditions are met! And right now barely _one_ condition is met! You should never fight a battle when you're not sure of the enemy's abilities' full potentials; there are too much risks in this!"

"Do you doubt your own abilities now? Don't rely on your experience when you were still an assassin! You're member number eight of the Genei Ryodan!" Phinks raised his voice and almost instantly, three of the creatures pounced on him. "Holy crap!" He screamed and batted each of them off, only to have the pouncing again. If he hadn't hardened his aura defense, he'd have been torn to shreds already.

Mizutsuki, on the other hand, saw the light in this situation and had silently slipped away to gather info of the unknown creatures. Thanks to the racket Phinks was making, she got away unnoticed.

The best way to find out stuff about the enemy was to examine corpses. Normally corpses leave behind a lot of information. That's why there's a career called _Forensic_. Those Forensic doctors gather up the clues on the corpse that the murderers left behind. But in this case, they had to investigate about the corpse itself.

She searched for the creature that she had killed with her throwing knife much just a few seconds ago. Freshly dead corpses were the best to investigate about. And she didn't want to risk her chance of attempting to kill another monster and get noticed by others.

"Oy Eighth!" Phinks stomped around the caravan after he had defeated the creatures snuggling him (With their iron grips and razor-sharp teeth). "Where the heck are you?"

"That _idiot_… I told him to be quiet!" Mizutsuki hissed under her breath and decided to keep crawling around for her target. Besides, she didn't want to lose that throwing knife. Any weapon would be an important resource now – her instincts said that the Hunter Exam might be harder than they thought. She faintly heard the sound of running waters and looked up to face the darkness, the sound of water was coming from her right; she made a mental note to that.

Finally, she encountered the creature she had killed with a throwing knife. The knife had embedded perfectly in the skull of the slimy creature. She pulled the knife out and drops of foul-smelling blood splattered her face. _Fuck… _She thought.

Wiping the knife on her shorts she hauled the slimy corpse over her shoulders. It wasn't exactly heavy, with the weight of a child. She then threw the knife towards the direction of Phinks.

Phinks was filled with anger; thinking that the bitch had left him behind to escape somewhere else. He was already thinking of telling Danchou to eliminate this untrustworthy new member when the knife came flying by his face.

He caught it with ease. A couple thoughts ran through his head before he understood the situation. She didn't leave him alone; she was somewhere else doing something else. Which the somewhere and something he had no idea of what it is. He walked towards the direction of where the knife flew from.

"Eighth…!" He started calling when a hand was slapped over his mouth.

"_Shut up_." Mizutsuki hissed. "You'll alert them…!"

Phinks pulled her hand off his mouth. "Where were you?" He demanded.

"Tell you later, now we must run. There are too many of them for us to handle."

Faintly, Phinks can make out that she was piggybacking something, but he didn't know what it was and he didn't really want to know. "Fine."

The two of the scrambled back towards the direction they came from, and they bounced up the nearly vertical wall with ease. They didn't stop running until they were at least a kilometer away from the spot. Tonpa was still there waiting and hallucinating. And there were two dark figures beside him…

Phinks lighted his lighter and scowled. "Who is it?"

The two people yelped and scampered away. Mizutsuki threw the creature off her back and caught them. She kicked one down onto the ground and stood one leg on him, while she pinned back the arms of the other. "Don't make us repeat ourselves…" She said softly but deadly.

"Ceezu and Slie," The man blurted out. "Don't hurt us, please!"

She snapped the arm of Ceezu and Phinks helpfully stepped on Slie's leg and broke it. Then they kicked the two of them to rest beside Tonpa. "What were you doing with him?" Phinks asked, cracking his knuckles. Having to return freshly from the nest of the creatures, he was covered in blood and his jogging suit was torn in many places. However, the death glare's power didn't reduce one bit.

"We were trying to untie him." Slie said, shaken. "What did _you guys_ do to him?"

"Nothing, just tortured him and left him here to die." Mizutsuki said nonchalantly. Unlike Phinks, she wasn't engaged directly in battle. Her white hoodie was dyed red, however. And her face was covered in soot. All-in-all, she was in somewhat better condition than Phinks. "Have the either one of you been down there yet?"

They shook their heads.

"Tonpa said that he'll go down," Ceezu said. "And we were to let down a rope for him when he wants to climb back up to tell us if he found a way or not."

"He's a natural liar; he lied to many of the participants before and we didn't trust him." Slie went on. "So we left him there and walked away. But we found him here just now and figured that we had wronged him."

"Well too bad." Mizutsuki replied. "He only came back because he was attacked by this." She kicked over the creature for them to see.

"You were piggybacking _that_ all the way?" Phinks asked in disbelief. "Gosh, stay away from me…"

"If I had to pick between you or this creature to spend the rest of my life with, I'd pick this creature." She shot back.

The creature she had brought back with her had a wrinkly body. It looked genderless and the skin was slimy and gray. The whole head was bathed in red and there was a hole in the forehead due to Mizutsuki's throwing knife. The creature had no nose and it had a square jaw filled with muscles. The size of the creature resembled that of a small child, like its weight. However, while the limbs were incredibly thin, the creature had a beer belly.

"It's like a miniature version of the Pale Man…" Ceezu mumbled. "With extra slime…"

"_The Pale Man_?" Mizutsuki echoed. "What is that?" She looked at Phinks.

"A character in a movie." Phinks explained. "Everyone knows that guy…"

"Well sorry, I don't." She knelt down beside the creature and flipped it over to lie on its back. The knife dropped out of her sleeve and the two men scuttled back in horror. "Don't be so nervous," She muttered. "I'm not going to kill you guys… yet." The _yet_ was barely audible.

"This creature had evolved perfectly to live in the darkness…" Mizutsuki said quietly as she examined the milky white eyes. "And judging from its bat-like ears, it has a superior sense of hearing." At this point she shot a dull glance towards Phinks. "Told you to be quiet."

"Tsk."

She returned to examining the corpse. "And judging from the claws at the tips of the hand, it can walk upside down and climb walls with no problem. _That's_ why we saw that guy dying earlier…"

"You mean that these creatures patrol the place for intruders and food, and that guy just happened to fall in the category as _food_?" Phinks said.

"Probably, but that's not my business." She reached to grab the lower jaw of the creature and pulled it's mouth open. A foul smell escaped and she scrunched up her nose. "Ew… seems like they don't know how to use a toothbrush properly…"

Phinks squatted down and examined the creature as well. "Those jaws seem pretty strong." He observed. "It would be a piece of cake to tear off human flesh."

"Yep."

"And they have a superior sense of hearing to cover up their blindness, allowing them to live and hunt in a dark mine like this. That paramour of yours, is he insane?"

"Probably and WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

Phinks ignored her and she cursed under her breath. "Anyways," She continued on gruffly. "I heard the sound of waters down there and as far as I know, the exit would probably be somewhere near that water source. Because they need to transport out the dirt they dig up and using the water flow is the quickest way."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Phinks deadpanned. "It's been barely two days and we've already got an idea where the exit is? Let's just go and take down all of them and pass this stupid Exam."

"No!" She cried. "Do you have any idea of how many similar creatures there are under there? This whole mine is like an ant colony, and that's the biggest common room! Do you know how many ants are in one ant hill approximately?"

"I dunno, ask Shalnark."

"About 2,5000." Ceezu answered helpfully.

"Yes! So there could be about 2,5000 more creepy crawlers in this goddamn mine right now! And as strong as we are, do you think that we can actually defeat all of them without being tired? And there's another thing that worries me…"

"_What_?" Phinks deadpanned.

"There are so many of them, and so many corpses down there. They tried to kill us as well; no matter what kind of animal or plants it is, they would release killing aura when they want to harm something. But _them_; I don't feel _any_ killing aura. And that's the problem for us in this situation." Her tone was dead. "Gyo isn't enough to see all of them, and En is too tiring. The best way for us in the darkness is to sense killing auras; but they have _none_. Why?"

* * *

**~Random Omake~**

Gon and Killua were brought to the hideout of the Genei Ryodan, and there they saw an extremely familiar and twisted face of a certain magician.

"AH!" Gon exclaimed.

Nobunaga glanced at Hisoka before glancing back at the child. "What? Did you see a familiar face?"

"Uhh..." Before Killua can make up a lie to defend themselves, Nobunaga whipped his head back to look at a extremely pretty pink haired girl.

"Machi! Told you that Hisoka was a pedophile; you should go out with me instead!"

* * *

**~ANOTHER Omake~**

In a forest that was secured far from Civilization, Ging sat beside his pet dragon and stared up at the starry sky.

"Gon is... twelve already...? I wonder how tall he is..." Ging said with a sad smile as he patted the scales of the monster beside him. "Sorry Gon, it's not that I don't wanna meet you, but it's that I have reasons..."

Suddenly he raised his fist and slammed it onto the monster's body. The monster was obviously unhappy at being woken up by a punch.

"Dammit... WHAT KIND OF FOREST IS THIS? I'VE BEEN TRAPPED HERE FOR AGES!"

_(Just admit it Ging, you're lost)_

* * *

**Ehh... the omakes are... _fun_, I guess. I don't know why I wrote them either. Or more accurately, I _translated_ them but that's another story. (Hah)**

**Anyways, I feel like that I should be more careful; or else Phinks would get too much attention and I'd get him OOC. (I think he's already OOC though *sweats*) I have _no idea_ how to shape Phink's personality to be honest; and so far I was just letting my fingers do the job of typing the story. This arc was _made_ to improve Mizu's relationship with our dear pharaoh you know. (Yes Feitan, the next would be YOU.) **

**I should probably get back to the whole "Ryodan" idea. ****And yes, I think that many of you get what I'm talking about now...**

**I am going to start giving hints of the THIRD arc now... pay attention guys. (Or can you guess it already? (OAO;))**

**And review! :D**

**PS: You guys DO know who the Pale Man is, right...?**


	22. Chapter 22

"_Killing aura_?" Ceezu and Slie blinked.

"_Killing aura_?" Phinks echoed. A vein throbbed in his forehead before he raised his fist.

Mizutsuki blinked and started at his fist in confusion before he punched her in the head. The sound of fist making contact with skull echoed throughout the tunnel. She hugged her head while falling down to her knees. "Ow-ow-ow…" She whined. "Don't you know how to control your strength…? Stupid pharaoh…"

"I'm not known for my control over strength. In fact, you should consider yourself lucky that your skull hadn't cracked."

"Why the heck did you hit me anyway?"

"I dunno, I just wanted to."

Mizutsuki was left speechless. "Whatever…" She said, waving the topic over. "Anyways, the problem for us is that we might not be able to sense their attacks correctly and in time. And they'd all pounce on us once they heard a noise. And YOU have a problem of being noisy." She kicked him in the leg, which he ignored. "What should we do? We have nearly no information of them. Except the fact that they're blind and rely on hearing; and that there are many of them. We have absolutely no idea of how the terrain is down there. And how long would it be until we reach the exit as we walk along the waters…! We could exhaust ourselves out before we even reach the exit!"

"Newbie, you're overreacting." Phinks deadpanned. "Calm down."

"How am I overreacting?" She exclaimed. "Is it wrong to be cautious?"

"Yes."

She paused in the middle of freaking out. "How come?" She asked. Even Ceezu and Slie seemed interested in the answer. What was wrong to being cautious?

"You know what? Fuck the assassin rules and being cautious. If you're not strong, Danchou wouldn't recruit you wouldn't be a member of the Genei Ryodan. These creatures are only taking the advantage of our _senses_; they did not take advantage of _skill_. And it's only been _one day_ since we've entered the mines. We have twenty-nine more days left. Plenty of time to waste." He glared at her, his own killing aura reeking out and stimulating her brain. "So _**calm down**_**.**"

Mizutsuki was frozen as Phink's words tried to settle in her head. However, it was Ceezu and Slie's turn to freak out. "Y-You're from the Genei Ryodan?" They cried, trying to crawl away. "P-Please don't kill us!"

Phinks groaned. "Argh, you guys are _so_ annoying!"

_Snap._

_Crack._

Two bodies fell limp and Phinks cracked his neck. "Oy Newbie, have you recovered yet or what?"

Mizutsuki jumped. "Huh? Oh yeah, you're right…" She pinched her nose bridge. "I'm sorry, it's just that we were trained not to fight when the situation is unclear. I do know that we are strong, but the condition is just… unclear and it gets on my nerves."

"You're such a troublesome brat…" Phinks muttered. "If Danchou didn't think you were strong, you wouldn't be here."

"You're right. I'm not an assassin anymore; I'm a member of the Ryodan…" She took a deep breath and returned to her cool self. "Say, what should we do?"

"Since when did you start to listen to me?"

"Since _never_." She replied. "There are too many mysteries about these creatures, let's investigate them before we take action."

"Exactly how do we investigate?" Phinks deadpanned.

"Well, they didn't say that we had to stay inside this mine twenty-four-seven until we get out the other side, let's go back to the starting point; and go to that town down there and have something to eat. I'm starving."

Phink's eye twitched. "Are you serious?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, we took the route farthest to the right, and there are no branches along this road. We wouldn't get lost. And we know how to walk to that fugly creatures' living room." She jerked a finger towards her back. "It's no problem; we have more than enough time, right?"

"Are you sure we wouldn't get disqualified if we do this?" Phinks' eye twitched.

"All they said was to be at the other side by the end of the month. And we have to walk _through_ the mines. They didn't say that we couldn't do anything else."

"Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes. "I think that you have a bigger chance of passing the Exam when you're freaking out."

* * *

The two of them arrived at a small hut on the outskirts of the town; they killed the two owners and stole some clean clothes to wear. Mizutsuki insisted on taking a shower first before they go. Where Phinks was annoyed by her 'Clean Freak' side. He flopped down on the couch and started to watch sports and stole some beer from the fridge.

Ten minutes later; she felt the difference of the shower. Her skin wasn't sticky anymore and her hair wasn't clotted with blood. She tossed her own blood covered clothes into the washing machine and after a second's consideration; she tossed Phinks' clothes in as well.

Mizutsuki found the eyebrow-less pharaoh snoozing away on the couch with a couple cans of beer on the table. After resisting the temptation to pop one open and drink, she kicked the man in the stomach. "Wake up, stupid pharaoh." She snapped. "Time to go." A vein throbbed on her forehead. _IwannadrinkIwannadrinkIwannadrinkthatbeer…._

Phinks groaned and sat up. "Seriously?"

"C'mon, I'm starving and my stomach is craving Subway…" _Andthebeer…_

"If I told you to massacre all the customers, would you?" Phinks snorted as he stood up.

She kicked him in the stomach again. "How long ago was _that_?" She spat. "Only Shalnark and Coltopi could ask me to massacre Subway customers alright?"

"What about Danchou?"

"Danchou too, but he wouldn't be that bored."

"Ahaha…"

They walked into town in search of a Subway to eat. Mizutsuki was happy to eat some real food and say goodbye to the mine. "Okay, now we open up the war council." She announced.

"_War council_?" Phinks echoed. "Only brats like you could come up with such a stupid name."

"What's the problem, I'm the maknae. I have the right to act childish." Although she was saying this, her expression was nowhere near childish. Instead it was clouded with frost and looking serious.

"You're friggin nineteen…" He muttered. "So? What tactics have you came up yet?"

She chewed the insides of her cheeks. "Well, we know that those creatures use the mine area as a nest. However, since that normal people are forbidden to enter, they have to come _outside_ the mine to eat. They wouldn't dig new tunnels, they'd use the old mine tunnels. So in a way, they'd know how to walk outside the mine."

"So what are you going to do? Catch one, train it with a leash, and tell it to lead you out?"

"I'm not a dog trainer; so, although it would be more effective, it's impossible."

Phinks crossed his arms. "Any other ideas?"

"We can try to massacre the whole army of them inside the mines." She said. "It'd be tiring, but it's possible. But to use this tactic, we would need to be able to sense them in some way." She raised a finger and drew circles in the air, looking rather thoughtful. "They have the advantage in the darkness, and we aren't able to sense their killing auras."

"Go to a department store and buy flashlights." Phinks replied.

"Yeah I was thinking that too…" She nodded. "But after we take advantage of sight, they still have the advantage of sound. Are you confident that you can move at the speed of sound and stay deadly quiet?"

"Out of all the Ryodan, only Feitan is able to do that."

"But Shorty is not here at the moment." She replied.

"I think that I'll give up on persuading you to not call our nicknames…"

Mizutsuki snorted than leaned forward. "So I'm thinking, we should understand what creature they are. Therefore making a more useful tactic with more scientific facts."

"How do you plan to do that?"

She kicked his leg under the table "Are you really retarded or what?" She chided. "There's a freaking library downtown. And there would be computers there. If not, we'll phone Shalnark and tell him to help. Although it's a little embarrassing because I asked him for a lot of help already." She paused. "You _do_ remember Shalnark's number right?"

"Of course I remember." He said dully. "Well? What are we waiting for?" Phinks popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth and stood up. "C'mon newbie, this is finally starting to get fun…"

Mizutsuki looked down at her half-finished Subway sandwich, then at the no-take-out sign on the glass window. "Dammit."

"So it seems like those creatures are called the _Nosferatu_…" Mizutsuki said as she clicked open the window for Wikipedia. "And the whole Silverstone mine area is actually a place where even pro Hunters cannot enter. That bastard really went overboard…"

"He's crazy." Phinks corrected. "What is that guy trying to do anyway? Is this his way of flirting or something?"

"I dunno… and if I hear anything along the lines of _flirting_ or _relationship_ again, I'll rip your face off…" Her tone was dead serious. "He's a crazy bastard that manipulates people for his own amusement. And just to see me frustrated, he dragged all this year's Hunter Exam applicants into this forbidden area to get eaten by the Nosfer-something."

"_Are_ _you_ frustrated?" Phinks raised an eyebrow (Or at least he tried to, considering he has none.).

"Like hell I am." She snorted. "The Silverstone Mines were taken over by the Nosferatu three years after its shutdown. And when the Nosferatu finally started to attack townspeople, it is listed as an isolated A-rank species… I do wonder how Pariston managed…"

"That's not important. So? As long as we get to the other side within the rest twenty-nine days though the mine, they'd accept you as a Hunter. How do you want to do that?"

"Ehh…" She scrolled down the page. "The Nosferatu is a carnivorous, violent, humanoid animal. They live in packs with approximately 1500~20000 members inside dark, clammy spaces. They have absolutely no vision but have a brilliant sense of hearing; they can also walk vertically and upside down…" She slammed on the keyboard. "Why doesn't it say anything about the most important thing?"

"What most important thing?"

She gave him an annoyed glance. "Their killing aura." She deadpanned. "If I have to say that again I'll rip off your face."

"You need to change your personality you know…" He held up a cellphone – stolen, of course. "Just ask Shalnark; he'd know."

"You phone him."

"Huh? This is your problem, not mine."

"I've asked him too many favors until now and it's embarrassing to ask another."

Phinks' face twitched. "Are you actually Tsundere? Newbie."

She shot him a death glare, Phinks smirked in reply. "Fine, I'll call Shal for you." He held up the stolen phone and dialed a number. There was silence between them as they waited for Shalnark to answer.

"Hello Phinks!" Shalnark picked up the phone. "It's rare that you'd call me."

"I didn't want to call you, Newbie is. But she's too embarrassed to talk to you herself."

Mizutsuki snatched the phone away from the smirking pharaoh. "Ignore what No-Eyebrows just said, Shal." She flipped Phinks off.

"Do you have no sense of humor…" Phinks muttered.

Shalnark laughed on the other side. "You're with Phinks now?"

"Yeah, biggest mistake of my life." She continued to flip him Phinks off. "A lot happened, and he's my partner in the Hunter Exam now."

"Ahaha, tell me the story some other time, okay?" Shalnark seemed fairly interested in how this turned out. "So? What's the problem?"

"Shal, I trust you to know what the Silverstone mine area is, right?"

"Of course, the place with the magical beast Nosferatu?"

"Damn, he _is_ smart…" Phinks muttered in awe.

Mizutsuki put a finger to her lips, silencing him. "Yes and unfortunately, that mine area turned out to be where the Hunter Exam is taking place this year."

Shalnark frowned on the other side. "I thought that the area was forbidden to enter?"

"I don't care how they managed it, but it just is. And our task is to walk through the mines and arrive at the other side within a month. And I'm wondering something."

"Hold on a sec," Shalnark said. "Before that, I need to ask you guys something."

Phinks took the phone over. "What?"

"Where are you guys right now?"

"In the village below the mountain." Phinks replied. "Newbie figured that we are allowed to use the one-month time as we like. Why?"

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering why would there be signal inside the mines." Shalnark laughed. "So I suppose that you guys have a good knowledge of the Nosferatu already?"

Mizutsuki snatched the phone back. "Yeah, but I don't understand one thing. There were a lot of corpses inside the mines, and we were attacked as well. But all these times, I didn't feel any kinds of killing aura, directed towards us or not."

"Ooh, that's easy,"

Phinks snatched the phone over but Mizutsuki didn't let go, resulting in a tug-of-war between the two. Phinks won of course. "What is it?" He asked. (Mizutsuki stomped on his foot and he winced slightly.)

"It's not weird that they don't have killing auras," Shalnark repeated again. "They are not _killing_, they're _eating_. And since when did people start to release killing auras while they _eat_?"

* * *

**Tada~ Here you go! There's the crappy reason I prepared for you guys of why-don't-the-Nosferatu-release-killing-aura! (DON'T THROW THOSE TOMATOES)**

**Annnd my reply to reviews!**

**_Ellixie_: Ahaha I just wanted to make up for my slow updating for those three days. And the third arc will start, SOON. To be honest I wanna start the third arc soon too and that's part of the reason why I'm updating so fast.**

**_Colorless Butterfly_: Thank you for your long review and excellent suggestions! Like seriously, it's super long and awesome, woo! I'll try to proofread it a few times and update the chapters for other mistakes. But my English isn't very good so don't get your hopes too high :P**

**_Obese-Gorilla_: Ahahaha Ging's omake was my fave too XD. And so would I; if I was actually in the story I'd probably be like the security guard Mizu killed in the first chapter (in short, the _first one_ to die). And it's good that a story is 'reviewable', right? Haha.**

**Review please!( I love reviews, like seriously if a Review proposed to me I'd be nodding my head off.)**

* * *

**And the link for Mizutsuki's character design, I'll post it on my profile. For people who are interested, feel free to check it out. But I must warn you, it has really crappy drawing skills (blame Paint...), and it's a completely different style compared to Hunter X Hunter. It's just for you to get an idea of how she looks...**


	23. Chapter 23

"They're _eating_…" Mizutsuki echoed. "Yeah… that makes sense."

"Yeah, but it's hard to think of right?" Shalnark replied. "Anything else?"

"Nah, we can manage ourselves from now on." Mizutsuki snapped the phone shut. Taking a deep breath she stretched. "Ahh… so they are _eating_, not _killing_… no wonder…"

"Does that actually make sense to you?" Phinks asked. "I don't really understand. But now all your questions about them are answered. What to do now?"

"I thought of something," Mizutsuki said. "Well, it's basically the same as what I did with the Camorra Mafia. I can use my nen ability and choke all of the creatures. But the area is too big and it'll be very tiring. I think that we should massacre as many as possible and gather all of them to a single spot before we do that."

Phinks sighed. "About 1500~20000 creatures are in there?"

"Yep, the whole mine is triangular shaped. We entered from the lower left and we need to get to the top of the triangle." She typed in some other key words and pressed Enter. "I can print out a map of the mine, it's on the internet."

"Hey-hey-hey, isn't that called _cheating_?"

She turned around in the swivel chair and stared at him apathetically. "It's called _thinking outside the box_, Phinks. It's not called _cheating_." She turned back to the computer. "Besides, they never told us specific rules. They just told us to walk _through_ the mine and be at the other side within a month. They didn't say that we need to be inside the place twenty-four-seven. Nor did they say that we cannot use a map."

"…" Phinks was out of words. "You're being irrational…" He muttered in the end. "Why aren't you a lawyer..."

A smile crept up her lips. "I think that even though this is just an Exam created to frustrate me; there are still some Hunter qualities you need to pass it too."

"Why would you say that?"

"First, you have to be strong to pass this Exam. Second, you have to be smart enough to think outside the box. Third, it's about testing your survival skills. Although I have no interest in becoming a Hunter..."

Phinks snorted. "Way to make things sound pretty, Newbie."

"I have a name you know." She pulled the printed papers out of the printer beside her. "And it's not _Newbie_."

"Worst Drinker?"

She shot him a glare. "Fuck you…"

Phinks laughed. "It's not my fault that you're a terrible drinker. Say, how crazy were you when you drank the most in your life?"

Mizutsuki now looked thoughtful. "Ehh, I think that it was when I graduated from being a trainee. That was the day when I drank the most in my life. When I woke up I was lying in the hospital with my hair all burnt and I heard that the party room burned down somehow…"

_We must never let you drink… _Phinks thought darkly. _NEVER_. "You turn into a pyromaniac when you drink too much?"

"Nah, the guy who blew up the party room was a fellow trainee called Genthru. I never liked that guy; he betrayed the Mafia earlier than I did. Like the _second_ he graduated he was gone. But although he's older than me, he graduated the same year as me." She snorted at the end. "I guess that the twelve people that were watching us at the starting point; they got eaten by the Nosferatus huh?"

"Probably. Too bad for them."

"Well then, the laundry would be done soon, let's go shopping. Money is not a consideration for us."

* * *

She pulled the knife out of the woman's forehead and Phinks let the man's limp corpse fall onto the ground. They then looted the two corpses of all their fortune and Mizutsuki melted the bodies on the spot. Their liquefied corpse seeped into the ground and disappeared. What were left of the couple were only scraps of their clothes.

"It's a convenient ability when it comes to getting rid of corpses." She said as she wiped away the blood on her knife. "But it doesn't work as well when it's on normal ground instead of grass. The liquid would stay there until it evaporates; even then, it'll leave corpse stink."

"Well, you better work on this because it'll be awfully convenient for our work" Phinks crossed his arms. "If you give it to Danchou as his birthday present, he'd be really happy."

Mizutsuki had a vague idea of Danchou's ability, being described to her by Coltopi once. "Hmph… If Danchou wanted to, he could have stolen _all_ our nen abilities and the Ryodan would be a one-man organization. The reason why Danchou didn't is because that he trust you guys and needs you." She paused. "Although I do admit, I only got to join because Danchou failed to steal my ability. But I'm a member nonetheless. It's a minor detail."

"What did they teach you back in the Mafia?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Mildly curious."

"Heh…" She stuck her hands into her pockets. "The basics usage of different weapons, though I specialize in knives. They taught us how to transform our hands into claws and other similar techniques. Other than that, we ran marathons to increase our stamina. We were tortured to get used to pain; and having our bones snapped to learn how to set them back. We also took classes on etiquette, and we had to fight each other daily. In spare time we took classes of what we liked. Nen was mandatory though, but the teachers weren't any good."

"Did you fail the etiquette class?"

"How did you know? That's the only class that I failed."

"It's pretty damn obvious…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" She laughed. "How did the Troupe come together then?"

Phinks shrugged. "I joined later on, so I don't know the details. But If you really are a citizen of Meteor City, I think you've heard of it before; _The Tramp Incident._ It had something to do with that I think…"

As soon as The Tramp Incident was mentioned, the atmosphere grew deathly cold. So cold to the point that even birds stopped chirping. The Tramp Incident was something that all the citizens of Meteor City knew about. And even after years it's been over; they could never forget the trauma. Even little children who were too young to understand when it happened. When they were taught it later on in their lives, anger took up their hearts as well.

No one of Meteor City could ever forget that.

About 10 years ago, a tramp without papers was arrested for murder. When the local law enforcement tried to look for information about the tramp, they found nothing. It was then that tramp confessed that he was from Meteor City, but the police of the country refused to believe him, extracted a confession that he _did_ commit the crime. In court, the lawyer appointed by the court did not do anything and allowed the tramp to be condemned. Three years later, the real murderer was arrested and his crime was brought out. It was then recognized that the tramp was falsely accused. However, it was already too late since the police, judges, inspectors, witnesses, jurors, and lawyers and a total of 31 people who all took part in the false accusation were assassinated shortly after the information was revealed. In one of the assassinated people, a message was found near the corpse's foot – _We accept everything. So don't take anything back. _The assassins were a bunch of 31 people that attached a bomb onto themselves, and exploded themselves with their victims. It was all because one of their companions was falsely arrested.

"Dammit." Mizutsuki gritted her teeth. "Now I'm fucking pissed… why did you have to bring that up?"

A vein throbbed on Phink's forehead as well. "You asked that, I just answered. But still…" He punched his hands together. "Godammit! Why can't any of us forget that Incident?"

"It's in our _blood_." Mizutsuki said. "The memory of that at trauma exists in every one of our subconsciousness, and it will pass onto the next generation and future citizens as well. It teaches that people from the outside are filthy pigs that only care for their own good. This is why we never trust people from the outside. We can only trust ourselves…"

"You're right…"

As soon as the two walked pass, the birds started chirping again. However, as they entered the self-defense shop for weapons and the department store for flashlights; all the customers backed out because of their murderous aura.

Mizutsuki held up the map of the mines she printed out. "I should have thought of this earlier," She mused. "Now the only problem for us is the Nosferatus…"

* * *

After the two Ryodan members had finished shopping for flashlights and weapons, they spend their night at the little house where they had stayed earlier in the day. Mizutsuki hung up the clean, wet clothes beside the fireplace and waited for them to dry. Phinks was watching boxing while drinking beer, sprawled out carelessly on the couch. Mizutsuki could count out about ten to thirteen gaps in his guard.

_The Nosferatu don't release killing aura because they aren't _killing_, they're _eating_..._ She thought. _Perhaps that I could find a new way of concealing killing aura?_ Holding an attitude towards an experiment, she walked into the kitchen and held up a frying pan. Then she glanced at Phinks.

I'm not beating him up... She thought. I'm just testing if this frying pan is able to crack his skull... This is just an experiment...

She raised the frying pan up high in the air and brought it down crashing on Phinks' skull.

Phinks, despite being drunk, managed to dodge the frying pan at last second. "What the hell was that for?" He snapped.

"Experiment." Mizutsuki replied, swinging the frying pan over her shoulder.

"Huh?"

"If the Nosferatu define it as _eating_ and not _killing_, can we define our actions of harming something into something else, and therefore erasing our killing aura completely as well?"

"Don't teach me those theoretic facts." Phinks muttered. "Tell those to Danchou and Shalnark. But now I've realized; we've forgot to do a very important thing..."

"Apparently, explaining thoughts like this to a muscle-head like you is a waste of time. And what very important thing?"

Phinks knelt down in front of the table and held out his hand; a calm smirk graced his lips. "Let's arm wrestle."

* * *

**Crappy Chapter so OMAKE TIME!**

Yorkshin City, on the car speeding through the highways. Chrollo had been captured by Kurapica. However, he did not show any signs of being frightened. Instead, he stared at Kurapica's face for a long time.

"What are you looking at?" Kurapica snapped.

Chrollo shook his head. "No, it's just that I didn't expect the Chain Guy to be a female..."

"Did I say that I'm a girl?" Kurapica pulled off his wig and wiped the lipstick off with his hand. "Don't judge things that you don't know."

Chrollo didn't say a word, he just kept on staring at Kurapica's face. After a long time, he finally spoke...

"Isn't this still a girl...?"

* * *

**Ehh, This is one of my more crappy works. In fact, I think all would be crappy until Mizutsuki meets Pariston (You can expect a ton of damage there.) But yeah... **

**And you know, I never look back at my previous chapters. I only remember important paradoxes that I have to explain and some plot twists I need to write. But this time, I looked back at the first chapter and realized that Phinks actually complimented on Mizu's figure before... *gasp* _Holy... _**

**I'll upload two chapters this time, to make up for this short, crappy chapter. Hopefully the next one is good though.**

**Review!**

**PS: My desktops is crawling with so many shimejis and it's _so_ freaking cute! *little girl squeal***


	24. Chapter 24

"My arm…" She muttered as she stepped over a thick tree root. "It fucking hurts…"

"You should be glad that I didn't break it." Phinks replied. "It's your fault that you demanded a rematch nine times. So your arm wrestling ranking is below me but above Nobunaga… Congrats, you have to battle Franklin, Feitan, Machi, Danchou, and Bonolenov."

She picked up a rock and threw it at his head; he dodged it easily. "Whoa, careful there. You could kill someone…"

"Namely _you_." She muttered. "If you weren't also a member, I'd have killed you already."

"If you can…" Phinks snorted. "I'm not _that_ easy to kill... Besides, aren't you going to kill that Pariston guy?"

"At least you don't get his name wrong…" She sighed. "Yeah, I'm taking the Exam to kill _him_, and you're taking the Exam to kill _time_."

"Yup; and what was it about the getting-name-wrong thing?"

"Samurai; he mistakes it with Paris Hilton every time."

"Not surprised."

Mizutsuki held up a finger of her not-sore arm. "Let's go through the plan again." She suggested. "One of us will enter the tunnel, and light up a smoke bomb and choke those creatures in their living room. They will be driven out of their hiding place through various routes. So at least the common room would be clear of them. There's a track beside the water source I heard and it leads to the other side. We'll just follow the map after that."

"You're a cheater." Phinks said. "I have nothing else to say. But in logic, using a map is already cheating."

She waved the map in his face. "They didn't say that we _can't_."

"They didn't say that you could either." He snapped. "Jeesh, if I were the examiner I'd have you disqualified from the start. Your boyfriend is favoring you too much!"

She kicked him in the shin. "YOU DARE SAY THAT AGAIN?" She roared.

Phinks stared at her impassively. "Now I'm really confused." He said in a loud, provoking tone. "Are you having a double crush on him and Shal? Tsundere-_chan_~"

She kicked him in the weak spot; this topic was never mentioned again.

"I'll go in." She volunteered when they finally arrived at the entrance of the mine. Phinks still looked in pain. She was somehow amused by his tortured expression. "Hold this end of the string." She handed him the thin, cotton string and tied the other end onto her finger. "Once I tug it twice it means that I'm going to use the smoke bomb."

"'Kay…"

Mizutsuki threw her backpack over her shoulder. Inside it was packed with a dozen throwing knives, two flashlights, two smoke bombs and one poison gas bomb. She was going to detonate the poison gas bomb first and then the smoke bombs to force out the creatures that weren't affected by the poison gas. They would kill the creatures that were forced out of the mines outside. If there were others who were able to survive both the attacks, they'd take them down as they cross their paths to the other side.

She held up her lighter and ventured into the tunnel the farthest to the left. It was the route they had taken and the only one they know. It was a good thing that it led to the big common room of the monsters.

After walking for about two hours, she arrived at the place where they had killed Ceezu and Slie. Their corpse were unrecognizable; not only that maggots were feeding on their flesh, but 70% of their meat had been torn off as well. The Nosferatu's corpse she had left there was gone.

As she decided to ignore the two corpses, she realized that there was another living being beside her. A Nosferatu? No…

Tonpa roared and tried to tackle her. But she simply stepped out of the way and sent him crashing to the ground. Before Tonpa could stand up again she had stepped her feet onto his back; she stared down at him and spoke in a murderous tone. "What are you doing?"

"Tsk…" Tonpa scowled. "I failed…"

"Obviously…" She muttered. "I thought that you died."

"Don't underestimate me, rookie!"

"Says the one that's at a terrible disadvantage now…" She muttered.

Tonpa tried to stand up, but he couldn't budge a bit. _All I have to do is mess up her balance… ARGH WHY IS SHE NOT BUDGING?_

_Don't be ridiculous… _She thought; she could clearly feel him attempting to throw over her balance. _My control over balance and strength is far greater than you…_ "What a pathetic adult you are…" She muttered; a light bulb appeared above her head. "You wanna come with me?" She asked.

"Huh?" Tonpa blinked.

She pulled the map out of her pocket. "I happened to find a map of the mine in the mine's center room. And my partner had already gone ahead to dispose those creatures. Since its fate that you managed to survive this long, do you want to become a Hunter?"

Tonpa couldn't believe his ears. "R-Really?" He stammered. His heart was telling him not to believe her; but her words were just too sweet.

Mizutsuki nodded. "Yeah, I think that only three applicants are left anyway… My partner, me, and you. We don't need to be so cautious towards everyone anymore"_ You survived because you slept through all that racket…_ "But if you try to do anything suspicious…" Her gaze became deadly. "I'll kill you."

"Yes! Yes! Thank you very much!" Tonpa couldn't believe his luck.

"But still, I'm afraid that you might do something bad, so I'm going to tie up your hands, alright?"

"Okay, as long as I can pass this year's Exam…"

Mizutsuki's smile was fake. She walked through the tunnel with Tonpa until they finally arrived at the spot where the Nosferatus rested. Tonpa slowly backed away from the dark hole. "Uhh… are you sure that your friend had disposed the creatures?"

"I'm quite sure," She mused. "I know that he'd be able to manage for sure. You wanna go take a look?" She handed him a flashlight.

"Are you really sure this is safe though?" Tonpa stammered, still looking unsure. He had no doubt on those two Monster Rookie's abilities, but his instincts warned him to be cautious.

"Yeah, do you not trust me?"

"Umm…"

Mizutsuki rolled her eyes. "Fine," She said. "I'll light up the place and you can see for yourself." As she said this she turned on the flashlight and pointed it down to the place where the Nosferatus rested. As she expected; there was a ton of them. Perhaps a hundred or more. "See? Phinks killed them all. He's probably waiting at the other side already. Damn, it sure is bloody down there…"

Tonpa blinked. "Really?" He stammered and walked to the edge of the place to look down. "WHAT THE HE-"

Mizutsuki kicked him down the steep slope and he screamed. The Nosferatus snarled upon hearing the scream. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Tonpa cried. "I'M GONNA KILL YOUUUUU!" His hands were still tied up.

_If you can… _Mizutsuki thought. _Thank god you're alive. Keep on screaming, you useless fat pig… you'll attract more of them towards you, and my gas bombs could affect more of these creatures…_ She pulled the bombs out of her bag.

She set the timer on the poison gas bomb and tossed it down; then she tossed the gas bombs to the farther places to force out the other creatures who survived the poison gas. After that she gave a tug on the string tied around her finger. It was a wonder how Tonpa didn't notice it.

She immediately turned around and dashed full speed out of the mine. She didn't care about what's happening behind her. She just knew that if she didn't hurry, the creatures would catch up to her. She could already hear a rumble of footsteps about one kilometer behind her.

She bursted out into the sunlight and was temporarily blinded. "PHINKS!" She screamed. "ARE YOU HERE?"

"There's no need to scream, Newbie." Phinks muttered. "Did it work?"

"Thirty second; about sixty to a hundred thirty-five. That so-called Rookie Crusher was still alive so I used him as bait."

"Are you evil or what…" Phinks muttered and cracked his knuckles. "Whatever…Twenty-six seconds left…"

And as you can expect, when the creatures exploded out of the place, it was _pure chaos_. Phinks snapped every one of the creatures' necks that came his way. Mizutsuki threw her knives from on top of the tree; none of them missed and all hit them precisely in the middle of their foreheads. But as soon as she finished the knives, she hopped out of the tree and the aura on her palms became turned to the level of Fluoroantimonic acid. If it was other people instead of her, they'd have their whole arms melted off.

She melted the last one of her victim and Phinks snapped two more necks. The whole process took less than five minutes.

Phinks scowled. "What the heck… these guys are pathetic! They call _this_ an A-rank isolated species?"

"C'mon Phinks, don't be so harsh." Mizutsuki wiped her hands clean of blood. "They only have advantage in the dark. Dammit… do they have any idea that white is hard to wash?"

"How hard is it? Just dump in bleach and press the button. C'mon, now we know their weaknesses, it'll be easy enough…"

She rolled her eyes. "Yup… let's use Zetsu; we'd be able to pass through no problem even without using nen, as long as the flashlight battery doesn't run out."

"Sure."

After pulling on a gas mask they sprinted down the tunnels with their full speed. They halted to a stop in front of the big common room for the Nosferatu. It was dead silent down there, unlike the other times where you can still hear footsteps prowling. Mizutsuki almost wondered did she actually purchase a _really good_ poison bomb. If so, she should remember the brand and make a note on it.

Phinks pointed his flashlight down at the bottom and whistled. "What a masterpiece."

She looked down as well. She hadn't noticed before, but now she realized that the whole place was splattered with blood; human bones were scattered everywhere. The slimy grey corpses of the Nosferatus now joined in decorating the floor. "Let's go down."

The two of them jumped down and Mizutsuki pulled out her map. "I'm not sure if the paths would still be good or not, after all, so many earthquakes had happened throughout the century, and the Nosferatus could have another common room on the way as well.

"Doesn't matter; as long as we have sight, we're good."

Mizutsuki didn't reply and pointed to the tunnel that led outside. Changing their aura to Zetsu they walked into the tunnel, being as quiet as they could. They were all fine for about two hundred meters, but when a creature suddenly pounced on them, Mizutsuki snapped her fingers.

_Pulmonary; Meltdown_ was like the nen version of Sarin. Phinks knew that even though he was wearing a gas mask, it could affect him too, so he held his breath until she signaled it was okay. They walked for another hundred meters he saw that how wide ranged her ability was; it would really be a tough one to fight in a battle. He held a grudging respect for her ever since they've met, but now the _grudging respect _had turned into a _respect as a member_. They were relieved that the bombs had somehow defeated most of the monsters.

When they saw the light ahead of them, they didn't bother to quicken their pace; they continued walking slowly. However, they _did_ rip off their gas mask.

"I guess that this is it, huh?" Phinks stretched. "Fresh air!"

"Yeah… those creatures wouldn't live this close to the outside…" Mizutsuki sighed. "I have to say… the Hunter Exams aren't fun after all; Shal was wrong."

"Shal thinks that _everything_ is fun; he deserves to be the maknae more than you. But they _could_ kill time." Phinks said. "We wasted four days doing this."

"Pffft…" She snorted. "Four days? We could have done it in _two_ days if we wanted too…"

"You were still mildly freaking out and making paradox speeches after the third day. I can't believe that drinking beer actually _does_ help you; I thought that you'd just go crazy instead of calming down."

She made hand gestures. "BAM! Meet alcohol; the magical liquid that make impossible things possible…" Her tone was somewhat annoyed.

"Yet an overdose still makes you go crazy…" He muttered under his breath. We're still not going to let you drink…

They walked out of the mines and immediately saw a sensor for the number plates. Mizutsuki took off her own number plate and swiped it over. _BEEP: 283 Year Hunter Exam, First Successful Applicant. Mizutsuki Shimo. _The machine squawked.

Phinks tossed away his own number plate and it vanished into the bushes. "Good luck on killing that guy." He waved over his shoulder as he turned away. "You still owe me a steak lunch, Mizutsuki."

She laughed dryly. "Yeah _right_… bye Phinks." She was somehow happy that her relationship had improved with one of the Ryodan members that didn't like her; even just by a bit. They would never be friends, but trusting each other as a member seemed fine.

And now… the hard part of the whole Hunter Exam arc… she was going to assassinate Pariston…

* * *

**Huh? Is the story going too fast? I'm sorry... It's just that I have like, _five_ _more_ arcs and plot twists I want to write, including the third arc. Plus I want to write one arc in particular but I can't write it now or the timeline would be messed up. UUUGGGGHHHHH**

**My reply to review(s):**

**_Cocoamilo_: Heh, I threw out _two_ more chapters this time, whaddaya think? :D And yeah whenever I'm going to sleep now, I always imagine that scene in animation... ****Aaaannnd more Tonpa torture for you! Maybe some days in the future I'd write an Omake of how Tonpa survived (Or maybe not..) Also, ****I keep thinking about Mizu's personality; sometimes I wonder am I getting my own character OOC. (Is that even possible?). And good for you! You guessed it right of how they passed the Exam! 100 points! (The points are pointless XD)**

**Another thing I'm really curious about; it might seem minor but I MUST ask... Did any one of you knew who the Pale Man was before I mentioned him? (Ya know, the wrinkly child-eating guy with his eyes on his hands in the movie _Pan's Labyrinth_...?)**

**Review!**


	25. Chapter 25

_23…33…45…13… _She rated each Hunter that she passed._ What the heck are they pro Hunters as well? Seriously?_ Seeing this, she figured that the Genei Ryodan could take down the whole Hunter Association if they wanted to, just that they were afraid of trouble. She wondered if those Hunters can see their difference in strength like she did.

_No-no-no, focus your eyes on the _**prize**_…_ She told herself yet again.

Climbing out of the car she was brought into a grand hotel. Like, _really_ grand. The crystal chandeliers sparkled from the twenty-meter high ceiling that was decorated with paintings. The marble floor was polished spotless. How formal everyone dressed made her feel like she was from a slum. Or she just won the Hunger Games.

On second thought, maybe she did…

"Ho-ho! Mizu-chan! Glad to see that you made it." President Netero came to meet her, stroking his beard with a sunny smile.

"Chairman Netero..." She breathed. Her killing aura was threatening to pour out. If she didn't have her sense, she would have strangled the chairman already, demanding where her target is.

"My, my, although that I was sure you'd be one of the applicants to pass this year, I didn't think you'd take this long!"

"I got a little panicked and took two days to rest." She said smoothly. "Otherwise I would have gotten here earlier."

"Hmm~ Well!" Netero clapped his hands. "I'm afraid that you will have to wait for another twenty-six days until the Exam is formally over." His expression was sympathetic.

_He knows the story._.. Mizutsuki thought. "No, there's no need." She said, picking up her act. Her tone was somewhat hollow and so was her gaze.

"Now why would you say that darling?" Netero blinked.

"Because I killed them all." She said calmly. "The ones who were able to survive the Nosferatu, I killed them all. Because I thought that it would save time for you guys."

She didn't really kill anyone other than Ceezu, Slie, and Tonpa. But then again, who could have survived the deal? Even if they did survive, they wouldn't be stupid enough to go in again.

All the Hunters in their black business suit backed away from her or turned a sour face. _"Mass murderer..." "Criminal..." "Killing addict..." "Why did she become a Hunter? For the no-legal responsibilities?" "Probably..."_

You forgot to add the '_member of Genei Ryodan_'... She thought. But she knew that exposing herself as a member would danger herself and the Ryodan instantly. _I'll just play good until I see Pariston; then I'll send you all to hell... _

Netero seemed to ponder. He knew that if it was any other people, 90% of the chance they would be lying. But he didn't know about her. "Hmm..." He scratched his chin. "Well then, I guess that you're right." _Besides, I wanna watch your match with Pariston as well…_ "I thereby announce that the 283 year Hunter Exam ends here. The only applicant to pass is Mizu-chan here!"

A vein bulged on her forehead._ Can't you spare the_ **chan**? She thought bitterly.

All the Hunters looked uncertain. "But what if there are more applicants?" One protested. "Shouldn't we wait another day?"

"There wouldn't be!" Mizutsuki snapped. Her fists were clenched. "I'm sure that I killed them all; I've never missed any one of my targets, look me up on the Hunter sight. I'm sure that it will say my mission success rate is 100%." She was so anxious to see Pariston she couldn't help herself from being cranky. She emitted a powerful aura of pure bloodlust. The Hunters backed away, but Netero seemed unaffected.

"There, there, Mizu-chan. No need to be so excited. Both of you are anxious, I know. So calm down~"

Thank god Phinks or Nobunaga wasn't there; otherwise they'd have made fun of her until the end of time. There were just too many things wrong in that sentence; yet it sounded so right.

She facepalmed. _It doesn't matter... All will end when I kill him. _

Netero cleared his throat. "Well, why don't you go take a shower and get some sleep? Mizu-chan? You look like you just crawled out of hell! I heard that the lavender bath salt they have in this Hotel is really good!" He held up a set of keys with the room numbers printed on.

She snatched the keys from him and walked away. "I hate lavender..." She muttered. "Don't bother me; I will kill anyone that enters my room..."

Netero blinked at his empty hand. Did she actually increase her speed just to get away from them quicker? "I heard that the Rose and Jasmine are pretty good too!" He called after her.

"I hate all flowers." Was her only reply. After bathing in blood so many times, she had forgotten what normal bath salt smell like.

She got a bathrobe from the room's wardrobe and tossed her own dirty clothing into the sink filled with warm soap water. If she used a hair dryer it should get dry pretty quickly.

She studied her tattoo carefully in the mirror. Vicky was a master; she did not leave any trace of hesitation while printing the picture. The colors were spread across her skin equally and smoothly. The number 8 sat in the middle of the twelve-legged spider. Just watching it made her feel calm.

Before stepping into the shower she made sure the mirror wasn't double-sided.

People say that there are multiple uses for showers. About from actually showering, you could sing, or even reflect yourself in there. The second thing she hated the most apart from flowers was singing; so she took the chance to reflect her life.

"Barely two weeks…" She mumbled as she counted the days. At the very start, she was given to the Camorra by the Meteor City elders. Then, she had to go through training to become an assassin. A lot of things happened and then she swapped targets with the Ryodan, causing them to hunt her down. Then Chrollo wanted her ability so badly but failed to steal it; so instead they made her join. After that her first mission was to massacre the Mafia that raised her to prove her loyalty. When she was massacring the Mafia at their party, she met Pariston. And now to kill Pariston, she had become a pro Hunter.

"Tsk…" She scowled. "My whole life is fucked up…"

"_And so is your personality…"_ The devil on her shoulder whispered.

She snorted. "That I admit… If I wasn't fucked up, I wouldn't be in the Ryodan…"

She flopped down on the soft bed, not bothering to wipe her hair. "Ahh~ I'm so tired…" She yawned. Calling the room service she dumped her clothes into the employee's hands and told them to finish washing it in three hours.

It seems like that the employee had taken her joking threat seriously, as he ran off screaming.

Oh well.

Sitting up she pulled her backpack towards her and she dumped out the leftover weapons. She had managed to retrieve a few of the throwing knives she used to kill the Nosferatus. Other than that, she had a few bombs left and a pair of scissors. She started polishing the knives and the scissors.

If she was going to kill Pariston, she better be prepared. Until now she had no idea how his brain worked; but it obviously didn't function like normal people. Which made him even more dangerous; you can never anticipate his moves. All she could do right now was to be prepared. She practiced different scenes in her head and made sure that she had a solution to everyone.

_I can't call any of the Ryodan members… _She thought._ Even though I'm a Hunter now, blacklist Hunters would be hungry for my head. I'm still a known criminal; they'd probably put a bug to eavesdrop on every call I make. Then they'd investigate about the ones who I called…_

In a way, this hotel room was more like a prison cell than any other prison cell.

As Mizutsuki let her thoughts wondered, her hands moved on its own and polished the blades she owned. When they were all done and gleaming, her hands continued to polish them until they were shinier than Pariston's teeth.

At the thought of Pariston, she grabbed a throwing knife and threw it at the door in anger. It landed a perfect bull's-eye on the peep hole. And it nearly hit Chairman Netero in the forehead as he walked in. "_Whoa_!" The chairman exclaimed. "When did I do anything to cross you Mizu-chan? Although you did say that you would kill anyone that interrupts you…"

Mizutsuki blinked. "Chairman?"

Netero held up a hand. "Yo! How was the bath?"

"I never take baths, I only take showers." She looked away at the pile of gleaming blades on her bed. "The only kinds of baths I take are bloodbaths."

"Ahh~" Netero grabbed a chair and pulled it over. "You're part of the dark society."

"Ain't that obvious…" Mizutsuki muttered. "Even though you're the chairman of the Hunter's Association, it doesn't mean that I won't fight you and kill you…" Her eyes were clouded with darkness and her aura screamed pure evil. The blade she held gleamed ice cold."

Despite the fact that even Phinks had confirmed that her aura was the scariest out of all the Ryodan, Netero still seemed unaffected. That shocked her a little bit. "Anyways!" The chairman ignored the evil aura she was emitting and tossed her a card. "That is your Hunter license. Take good care of it, you'll only get one!"

"Hmph…" She took the card from Netero and placed it into her backpack.

Netero nodded to himself inside his head. _She's not letting any gaps into her guard. This kind of skill can only come from experience and practice. As young as she is, she had gone through many battles, perhaps even comparable to me…_

"Chairman Netero," She said quietly. "I hope that you would excuse my rudeness; but I must ask. When the hell is that idiot Blondie going to meet me?" _What a troublesome old jeezer… _She thought. _He looks like he's full of gaps, but there's actually none…_

Netero smiled and stroked his beard. "Hmm… Before I answer that, you have to answer my questions first."

Mizutsuki immediately threw a knife towards him; it whizzed pass his ear and buried itself into the wall behind him. She immediately grabbed another knife. "Don't joke around with me, old man…" She said in a tone of pure poisonous evil. The next knife would be aimed at your ear instead of the wall."

Netero merely laughed. "What an honest girl you are!" He laughed. "But you're still too young; anyways, that sure is some good skill. It wasn't learned in a day right?"

She wanted to rip Netero's smiling face off.

"So answer me. Every Hunter must hunt something; whether you want to be a Hunter or not, this is mandatory. Say, what is it you're going to hunt for?"

Mizutsuki was silent for a couple moments before she erased her killing aura and answered. "I only attended the Exam to hunt for Pariston's head." She said quietly. "But I will kill him sooner or later. So it doesn't matter."

"Nuh-uh, not good enough!" Netero exclaimed with a merry smile. "If you give me a good enough answer I'll give you a hundred Jennies as allowance~"

"How old do I look?" She cried. "Don't tease me, old jeezer."

"C'mon sweetie, it's not a hard question to answer." Netero was still smiling.

Mizutsuki couldn't help being frustrated. This old man would indeed be a hard opponent to fight. In the end she gave in; and in a dead serious tone, she spoke. "Anything that a man wants." She said quietly; the sentence was barely audible. "I will happily get it for him, even if that means that I have to sacrifice myself." She remembered how every member of the Ryodan looked at their Danchou; in their eyes were pure loyalty. And hers' was too.

Netero looked as interested as ever. "Who is the man? I suppose that it isn't your friend who accompanied you through the Exam?" So far Netero what Netero had gathered was this: This girl in front of him belonged to an organization with absolute authority on the dark society. The eyebrow-less man was a member of that organization too. And the man she had sworn loyalty to was the leader of said organization; and also the one who had ordered her to betray the Camorra.

Mizutsuki flipped the chairman off; a rather bold thing to do. "Like hell I'd say who it is." She spat. "Your turn to answer, chairman. Where is Pariston?"

Netero smiled. "He's very excited for the date too, Mizu-chan. And he was wondering if you would join him in a romantic dinner tonight."

Of course, Pariston never said those words; he just said 'dinner'. But Netero elaborated on the sentence himself to see how the cold-blooded killer would react. He wasn't disappointed by the results.

If Mizutsuki had anything in her mouth, she would have spewed it all out. But since that she didn't have anything in her mouth, she choked on air and bit her tongue. "_What_…?" She coughed. A traitorous red hue rose up to her face. "Can I refuse?"

The chairman whistled. "Are you actually Tsundere Mizu-chan? What an unexpected trait for a trained assassin. And nope, there's only one chance~" Netero was laughing uncontrollably inside to the point that his stomach hurted from not laughing.

"No! I mean, can't we meet _normally_?" What she had defined as normal was having weapons stocked all over themselves; have a big fight and one of them would die. This was completely out of her calculations.

"Anyways," Netero stood up. "It's all up to you~ I hope that you guys can sort out your problems with negotiation. Because seeing either one of you go to waste would sure make me sad; what a waste of talented youngsters!"

If only she had saw that smirk as the chairman walked out of the room…

After gawking at the walls for about ten minutes, she snapped back to reality and facepalmed. "Oh dear…" She muttered. "But whatever… If that's what it takes to kill you…" Her expression grew murderous. "You will _PAY_ for toying around with me like that… _Dearly_…"

* * *

**I'm not sure what you would call that... Would that actually be classified as _ParistonXMizu_? (Oh my god, Mizutsuki would come out of the story and kill me if that happens...) But neither of them are interested in each other _that_ way... Only that chairman Netero is trying to tease these '_youngsters_'. *cough cough***

**Man it sure is hard to write about their relationship. The only thing I know is that Pariston is VERY HARD TO WRITE. Exactly _how_ do you describe his personality? Self-centered? Only cares for his own amusement? *double facewall* ****Perhaps I can get an idea how to describe him if I hit my head hard enough?**

**I think that the next chapter would be the end of the second arc, and chapter 27 would be a transition chapter to the third arc. Anyone guessed what it'd be about yet? ****(I think that this would end up as an 80 chapter story...) ****And Feitan is _really_ popular... I mean, he's my fav character too but whoa; his popularity is off the charts! Weeeeeeee**

**I've been into those little things called shimejis lately; and they're so freaking cute! *little girl squee*. And I'm planning to draw a Mizutsuki Shimeji as well; that outta be fun.**

**Review!**

**BTW; I know that my grammar isn't good but I'm trying very hard to edit (Someone just be my beta reader already..). And English isn't my first language so yea...**


	26. Chapter 26

**This chapter sounded better in my head... But oh well... **

* * *

She wished that she could just grab the sparkles out of the air and stab him with it.

_Perhaps his ability is to conjure sparkles and blind people... Yes that must be it... What a terrifying ability._

Pariston was smiling and not saying a thing; he was just looking at her with a mildly amused expression. She knew that something was wrong already, but she just couldn't detect what. Her Danger Radar was off the charts.

Mizutsuki looked down at the food in front of her and slowly scanned it. It was steak and wine. She highly suspected that there would be something nasty in the food. Like poison or drugs... She decided that she wouldn't eat it even if Pariston did. He'd have the antidote even if he poisoned himself. The whole room smelled refreshing with an unnamed flower planted in a pot beside the door.

"You should eat something." He said suddenly. "Menchi cooked this meal, you better not waste it or she'll go crazy. Even _I_ can't help it when she goes crazy; and to think she's only fifteen…" He looked somewhat scared. "Women are scary when they're mad…"

"I don't know who she is and I could care less." She deadpanned. "What about me? Am I not scary when I'm mad?"

"You're always mad, it's not scary anymore."

"Tsk…" She scowled.

"You should stop scowling." He frowned slightly. "It's hard for people to notice that you have handsome face because you scowl twenty-four-seven."

"I wouldn't care about how my face looks unless that it's important to a mission. And it's definitely the last thing on my mind right now."

Pariston looked frustrated. "Well then, where are you from?" He asked out of the blue.

"_Hah_?" Mizutsuki's jaw almost dropped. _What did _**that**_ have to do with our conversation?_

"Where are you from?" He repeated again with a smile.

"You should know. Isn't it on the oh-so-magical Hunter site?"

"There are times when even the information on the Hunter site doesn't work."

Immediately the face of Shalnark floated to the surface of her mind. She raised her guard even higher. "Just spit out whatever you want to say." Mizutsuki said icily.

She could literally tear his innocent face apart. "I'm just teasing you," He said. "Because you're amusing."

"_What_?"

Pariston smiled. "I'm really curious about that force behind you. So please tell me, what is it?"

She picked up the steak knife and slammed it into the table, landing right between his fingers. "Don't fuck with me."

Pariston laughed. "You just destroyed an expensive table there. Are you sure that you don't wanna eat? You really should."

_Who would eat when you might have poisoned it? _She muttered silently inside her head. "Anything else?"

"Hmm?"

"Whatever, I'm only here because I want to kill you. You are a threat not only to me, but my whole organization as well."

A mischievous light danced in Pariston's eyes. "I guess that it's not the Camorra, correct?" He started eating his own steak. "This is what I have gathered," He started. "On some occasion; you met another organization not related to any Mafia. This organization somehow captured you and your loyalty turned completely. Conveniently, at that same time; to prove your loyalty to them, you were given a mission to massacre the Camorra. You met me there by chance; but then I grew an interest on you and that organization. This was deemed as a threat to both of you. The man who entered the Exam with you was also a member of that organization. You know, chairman Netero told me something else. When he went to your room for an interview; you answered that you will hunt down anything a certain man wants. That would be the leader of that organization, correct?"

Mizutsuki was already sweating, but she hid it well.

Pariston sipped his drink and continued. "At the starting point, when you broke out a fight with another applicant, your company seemed unwilling to help you. That could mean two things." He held up two fingers. "Either that he trusts you to be able to handle the situation yourself. Or he is not familiar enough with you inside the organization to help you. If it is the second one, it means that you only joined recently and you are not close with him yet."

Mizutsuki had to admit that she was impressed. He was completely right.

"An organization you only joined recently. Not related to the Mafias, but is still a big part of the dark society." His smile was rather confident. "You are an A-rank criminal, this organization either _needs_ people like you, or they can _only_ take people like you. If so, that man's face could probably be found on the criminal files as well." He smiled. "Of course, these are just '_ifs_'."

She cannot protest, since they were all true.

The only way to prevent this from happening was to kill him...

"Really, you should eat." He said. "Don't be so stubborn."

She shook her head. "No."

"Really? Didn't you just climb out of an underground mine nested with a bunch of Nosferatus? I thought that you'd be craving for good food."

"As I said, _no_!" She snapped. "I think that I will make this clear once and for all. I hate you because you're fucking annoying and cheerful. And one thing I hate the most is cheerful people, especially handsome Blondies like you who can throw out threatening comments with such an innocent face that can put an angel to shame. What are you going to do to me and my organization if you find out?"

Pariston looked amused at her outburst. "I don't know, you guys are only fun because I don't understand you guys. It won't be fun once I know."

"You're not speaking sense..." She muttered. "You mean that you'd throw us away once you find us not entertaining? Don't be ridiculous!" _The Genei Ryodan isn't something you can joke around with!_

Pariston's expression remained impossible to read. Mizutsuki's fire of hatred burned to the peak. "I am going to kill you, here and now." She said in a dangerous low tone that emitted aura of pure bloodlust. If the other members had to give a rating, this was without a doubt the scariest they've ever seen her. "I don't care what you say. Let's fight now, loser dies and no complains."

Pariston frowned. "I don't like fighting you know."

"Does it look like I care?" She snapped. "Godammit, ever since I walked into this room I've wanted to rip off your face!"

Pariston raised his hands. "Okay, okay, calm down Mizu-chan. This isn't a good place to lash out our abilities. Really, we can solve this without fighting."

"I doubt that…" She scowled. "There's no other option for me other than killing you…"

Pariston shook his head. "No, you're wrong Mizu-chan." He said. "If it was under any other condition, we could have had a fair fight, but not this time. You've already lost."

"Are you making fun of me?" Her expression grew extremely dark.

"No-no-no, don't get me wrong. Just that Bushidora and I made a bet. Whether you can notice the trick or not…"

That got her interest, just by a little. "What trick…?" She asked tentatively. _Is it a trap…?_

Pariston shrugged. "It's about time it starts now…"

"What starts…"

Then she felt it, a nauseating feel occurring deep inside her brain and spreading out towards her body. She slumped down back in her chair. "What the heck…" Mizutsuki muttered. _Did I get poisoned? But how? I didn't eat any of the food…_

"You see the pot of flowers over there?" Pariston pointed. "Their smell can temporarily nauseate and bind people. It's a very strong type of airborne poison that stops your body movements. Bushidora said that if you get caught by it, I'll have to hand you over and let him investigate about the crimes you made and that organization behind you." He sighed. "That's why I told you to eat so many times; it contains the antidote. But you thought of the antidote as the poison itself. Tsk-tsk-tsk…"

She forced herself to stay calm. _I'm an idiot…! _She screamed within her mind._ Why didn't I think of that? Godammit… But it doesn't matter, as long as I can control the pH of my own body, I can nullify the effects of the poison…_ She hugged herself from the coldness coming from the insides of her body. It was freezing.

Pariston now looked troubled. "But this is bad…" He said. "I don't want to let Bushidora play with that amusing organization. But if it's you, it wouldn't be a very big harm right? The poison." He stood up and patted her on the shoulder.

"Why couldn't you say this earlier…" Her teeth chattered. She was feeling so cold and nauseated that even her abilities had some trouble functioning. "Who the heck is Bushidora anyway…?"

"Ehh, a blacklist Hunter; he's not fun at all." He was smiling at her dilemma. "What are you going to do now Mizu-chan? Crisis~Crisis~"

"Can you _shut up_?" She snapped. "I'm trying to save myself here…" _Concentrate, concentrate… nullify the poison… Ignore that Blondie, Ignore that Blondie… Ignore that goddamned Blondie…_

Pariston smiled and leaned down. Using two fingers he pushed the corner of her lips upwards; a vein bulged on her forehead. "See, you look better smiling!"

**凸(-"-#)…**

She glared at him. If she knew that this was going to happen, she would have watched Phinks fight more carefully and steal some moves from him – he was good in close-ranged combat. "Fuck you Blondie."

"You shouldn't swear so much either. But what can I say? You were raised by the Mafia." He sighed. "By the way, I have been wondering for a while. What is that giant bruise thing under your hoodie?"

Her heart took a giant leap off a cliff and landed with a **KABOOM** on the earth's surface. The spider tattoo was mistaken as a bruise; thank god. If he had recognized it as a spider she might as well write a will and go die. She hugged herself even tighter; the freezing coldness was starting to go away but the nauseating was still there.

"You put me through the Nosferatu deal, as strong as I am, you don't think that I can fight a thousand of those creatures at once and come out uninjured right?"

He frowned and placed a thoughtful finger under his chin. After considering the fact for a few seconds, he slapped her over the tattoo.

Mizutsuki jumped. "What were you doing?" She spat.

"Hmm… as I thought. That is not a bruise; that is a tattoo. And it wasn't there when I first met you. So that means that you only got it recently; perhaps as a symbol of formally entering the organization?"

The red alarm rang in her mind. _Of for the love of god, NO…_

"What is it…?" He squinted. "I can't really see… must be the lights." He pulled a remote control out of his pocket and clicked a few buttons. Immediately the lighting became brighter and he concentrated on the tattoo again. "It's a… _Spider_?"

* * *

Mizutsuki burned the grand hotel down and walked away from the scene, not looking back. It would be nice if all the Hunter Association people inside died; but she knew that it was impossible.

Shee still didn't understand. She had thought that Pariston would indeed be interested in the Genei Ryodan. However, after a talk with Netero, he came out of the office room looking rather disappointed and said that he would not hunt down the Ryodan.

_ The chairman probably told him not to…_ She thought. _As annoying as that old jeezer is, he still has some sense of not messing with the Ryodan. But still, Pariston is someone that I should keep guard of at all times, no matter what happens…_

* * *

The black cellphone rang and the short-statured bandit picked it up. "Hello?" He answered in his usual icy tone.

"Ahh, Feitan!" Shalnark said at the other end. "Danchou just handed out another mission."

"What is it?" Feitan deadpanned.

"Ehh, he said that he'll tell the members who are present when the time comes. Mizutsuki doesn't have a cellphone right now, but I know that she's at Zaban city. You're really close right? Can you notify her? Thanks!"

Before Feitan could reply, Shalnark hung up. He stared at his phone for a few seconds. "Tsk..."

* * *

**Yay Feitan! *waves little Feitan flags*. Ya know, this chapter sounded a lot better in my head; but it didn't come out as good as I thought. I'll probably rewrite this chapter sometimes in the near future.**

**And You all know now right? That was like a GIANT hint._ 'Danchou's mission'...?_ Obvious enough ya?**

**Because I'm very tired of writing this chapter (it's like 2 a.m. in my place), I'll end this short, messy author note here. Remember to review!**

**PS: Third arc starts next chapter**


	27. Chapter 27

She woke up to an angry knock on her window. Slowly forcing her tired eyelids open, she saw a sight that could get into the top ten scary things of her life –

A dark, evil shadow glared at her through the glass window. Her soul felt naked and a cold chill ran down her spine. _What the heck is that? _She screamed in her mind while hugging her body from the cold chill._ Did a murder case occur in this inn before or something!? I'm gonna fucking murder the owner of this inn and his family…! As strong as I am, my nen ability wouldn't work on ghosts...!_

The dark shadow knocked violently on the window. "Where's an exorcist when I need one?" She screamed helplessly. Right now she felt more endangered then when she was with Pariston.

"_Open_, _the_, _window_, _Newbie_." The dark shadow hissed.

It wasn't until then she realized that the evil shadow was Feitan. Now she was confused; why was Feitan here? Is he here to fight a battle with her? She knew that among the Ryodan now, Feitan would be the only one with a not-so-good relationship with her . Phinks wasn't all that bad anymore.

Slowly she climbed out of the bed and walked over to open the window for Feitan. The short bandit jumped into the room. "Why didn't you just break the window?" She asked.

"Hmph… if I did it would have alerted the owners of this inn… but I guess that it wouldn't matter anymore, since your scream had probably alerted them…"

She felt a red blush working its way up to her cheeks. _He heard that…_ She thought darkly. She then quickly washed her face in case of any embarrassing traces of sleep. "Why are you here anyway?" She asked. "If you wanna fight, can't you choose a better day? I just finished the Hunter Exam you know…"

Feitan snorted and flopped down on a chair. Crossing his legs like a boss. "Danchou called." He said.

A roll of thunder roared behind Mizutsuki. "_Danchou_?" She echoed. "What did Danchou say?"

"I dunno." His slanted eyes were apathetic and dark. "Danchou would tell the members who are there present that day… You did not have a phone so Shalnark told me to contact you… Since I was closest to you geographically at the time…"

She narrowed her eyes. "Well then, I'll thank you here. But where are we supposed to meet up with Danchou?"

"Shalnark said that we're meeting at the Lukso Province in two weeks…" His eyes glow dangerously dark. "You coming?"

Mizutsuki could not feel any kinds of killing aura from him. Either that he doesn't want to fight now, or he's had a Nosferatu Zetsu master. "Are _you_ going?"

"Of course… I recommend that you come too, Newbie; it's very rude to refuse your first official mission from Danchou with the others…"

"I have the feeling that if I went with you, you'd kill me on the way."

"If you piss me off, I _will_. I still cannot trust you, however; so I will go there with you…" His expression grew darker; something she had deemed impossible since it was already dark enough. "Don't try to play any fishy tricks…"

She could sense that Feitan was _not_ joking. This Shorty didn't seem like the joking type anyways. Perhaps that she should just imagine him as a miniature Phinks with a colder attitude and dead gaze. Yes, that would work. Being the interrogator of the Phantom Troupe, he must have some neat torture skills up his sleeves that she doesn't want to see.

"Who would?" She spat. "Where is Phinks?"

"_Phinks_?" He frowned. "What about Phinks?"

_Feitan Observation Diary, point one – He only has three expressions: Expressionless, frowning, or scowling._

"He was still here with me a couple days ago."

"You were with Phinks?" Feitan was genuinely surprised. "I'm surprised that you're alive than."

She crossed her arms. "A lot happened; and out of pure amusement, I dragged him into the Hunter Exam with me but he left as soon as we completed the task… You could say that our relationship had improved somewhat. At least he trusts me as a member now, unlike you."

"Don't expect me to be as easily moved as that hot-blooded idiot." Feitan replied. "I don't know what happened and how did he change his thoughts on you; but I would never like you or trust you…"

"Whatever…" She muttered. _I should have recorded that… He called Phinks a hot-blooded idiot… What wonderful blackmail would that be?_ She paused and reconsidered. _He's a pro torturer… never mind._

"Good." Feitan stood up. His cold stare sending chills down her spine yet again. "Meet me at Zaban city's entrance tomorrow seven o'clock a.m.; or **_else_**…" He jumped out of the window and landed on the ground. Barely any sound was made.

Before he could melt into the shadows, Mizutsuki grabbed an apple from the fruit basket. Using her ability to alter pH, she turned it into the sourest apple ever. "Oy, Feitan!" She called. "Catch."

Feitan caught the apple without looking back.

"You should eat something that contains _Fe_; you look so pale you look like a fucking ghost!"

He ignored her and melted into the darkness.

_(Note: Fe = Iron)_

* * *

After going back to sleep and waking up again, she decided to take a shower and get dressed. It was twelve o'clock at that time. It was going to be boring, waiting for so long, but she didn't want to go to sleep anymore after Feitan giving her such a fright.

Now that she thought of it, Feitan did have pale skin. She looked down at her own average toned skin color. Although she didn't care about looks, her pride as a woman faltered. Pakunoda had a beautiful S line and cleavage; Machi was naturally cool and pretty. She was just… _Mizutsuki-ish_.

She applied a disguise onto herself before checking out of the inn and walking back into the city.

_Oh for the love of god, don't let me meet any of the Hunter Association people…_ She thought bitterly. What kind of people would dare come out onto the dangerous streets at such a late time? Only people who are dangerous themselves; like Feitan and her. And people that are truly nuts would.

Besides, from the newspaper she had seen; the crime rate of Zaban city had been rising quickly…

There was a small oden stand sitting at the end of the street. And there were three seats; currently two of them were taken. For some reason she slid into the empty seat and ordered some soup.

The other two customers were two men. She sat the farthest to the right. In the middle was a man with a somewhat muscular build, yet slender at the same time; he had a carelessly shaved chin and wore a… turban (?) on his head. He seemed to have a liking for radish, since his soup was piled with it.

Sitting farthest to the right was a tall man with a muscular frame. His hair is unkempt and his facial hair consisted of a mustache and sideburns. He has large, piercing blue eyes with a long and slender nose. The muscles on his arms bulged and he seemed to be very careful of not snapping his chopsticks by accident.

It wasn't for a few minutes until one of them spoke; it was the man in the middle. "How old are you?"

Mizutsuki figured that he was asking her; because she doubt that he would be interest in muscle-man's age. She shrugged and sipped some Oden soup. "Nineteen…"

"Did you run away from home or something…?"

_It's nice of someone to care for someone they've never met_. She thought at that time. "Nah, I'm from Ryūseigai." _This guy is probably drunk anyways… _She thought. _It wouldn't matter…_

"Ryūseigai?" The man echoed.

Now even the customer on the left seemed to have interest in their conversation. _Is Ryūseigai _that_ famous? _She was genuinely surprised. _But if so, I shouldn't talk too much about it…_

"Why did you come to Zaban city then?" The customer on the left asked in a raspy voice.

"I came to take the Hunter Exams."

Now both the customers seemed shocked. "A fragile little girl like you?" The customer in the middle gawked.

"You barely have any muscle." The guy on the left added. "Just look at those skinny arms, if someone was to grab your meat off all they'd get is skin..."

A vein bulged on her forehead. But it was on the right side so neither of them saw it.

"So? Did you pass?" The man beside her asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

The man nodded slowly. "Okay…" Somehow he looked like he wanna leave now. Whereas the interest of the left-customer grew. "How was the Hunter Exams?"

"Easy…" She nibbled on a boiled radish. "Hard at first sight, but easy once you get to know it…"

"What was this year's test about?" The guy in the middle asked.

Mizutsuki paused. _Hmm… what should I say… I suppose that I cannot say the truth, but wait a minute._ She frowned. _He just said_** this year**_; is he a Hunter too? _She studied the man in the middle. _Just a normal, middle-aged guy. Maybe have a child or two. How can someone like him be a Hunter? The guy on the left seems more likely…_

"We had to walk a maze." She started to make up lies. "We were given a time limit of one week, and there were some funky creatures down in the maze. We had to walk out of the correct exit…"

"How many examinees passed this year?" The man continued to ask.

"…Two." She lied, counting Phinks in. "Me and another guy…"

The left customer nodded slowly. "So you're an elite right? Little girl…"

"If you want to say that, go ahead…" She muttered. Now she somehow felt uneasy. There was something wrong about these two customers; her instincts can just tell. "I only got the license because I want to meet one person…"

That seemed to catch the middle man's attention. "Who did you want to meet?"

"…Afuckinghandsomeblondiewhoshouldgofuckhimselfand gethisfingerschoppedoffthenputinablenderandaddedvo dkatomakeanewdrinkentitled **The Bloody Pariston**." (**A fucking handsome blondie who should go fuck himself and get his fingers chopped off then added Vodka to make a new drink entitled _The Bloody Pariston_**.)

Ging blinked. _Seems like Pariston made another enemy… And from what I've heard, he had altered the Exams of this year to being extra hard because of one applicant. It must be her… I can feel her aura; although she's hiding it really good right now. She must be a skilled nen user. I wonder what kind of relationship she has with that guy..._

Johness's killing aura was threatening to explode. He wanted to test out his strength against this so-called Hunter. He was hungry for blood and the slimy warm feel of human flesh that made him so excite every time he killed someone.

Now Ging and Mizutsuki could both feel it. The killing aura of Johness; Mizutsuki's knife silently slipped out of her sleeve and she was calculating. _Dammit… how troublesome… He is not a Hunter; he is an amateur killer. Because if he's professional, I would have met him during some of the Mafia gatherings…yet I haven't…_

Ging was calculating as well._ The girl is a skilled nen user; it would be fine even if I left her alone to deal with this guy beside me. But I'm interested in her ability too…_

"Hmm? Why aren't either of you speaking anymore?" The owner of the Oden stand asked.

Before Ging or Mizutsuki could reply, the owner of the stand was lying on the ground with his head bleeding. With a gasp they jumped backwards to avoid the swipe of Johness' hand.

"You're not a normal person either right? You're a Hunter." She asked Ging. "Judging from the way you avoided this amateur killer's attack."

Ging shrugged. "Oh, so you guessed it. I think this guy is _Johness the Dissector_. A rather famous killer in this city. But this is troublesome… I don't want to cause too big of a fuss here…" He scratched his neck.

"Neither do I." She said. "If you're a Hunter, can you contact the Hunter Association and send a Blacklist Hunter over? I have some serious issues with them and I don't plan on meeting them any soon."

"I guess that you burned down the hotel for a reason then…" Ging muttered. "But yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I don't know you, you don't know me, all the credit will be given to the Association… Sounds good to both of us."

Mizutsuki narrowed her eyes. "You've been trying to get information out of my mouth all along… Doesn't matter, as long as I can get out of the city before seven, I'm fine."

Ging nodded slowly. "Fine, fine, I don't want to make a fuss nor touch Pariston's woman eitherrr…_!_"

Mizutsuki threw her knife at him, which he dodged last second. "CAN YOU NOT TALK ABOUT THAT BLONDIE?" She snapped. "SAY ANOTHER NOUN STARTING WITH 'P' AND ENDING WITH 'N' AGAIN I WILL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT."

Ging blinked. "Women sure are scary when they're mad…" He muttered.

Johness cracked his knuckles. "Oy, oy, oy… don't talk like I'm not here… I'm really curious to see what my strength is compared to that of a pro Hunter…"

"Tsk…" She scowled. "Whatever, hurry up and call a Blacklist Hunter. I can deal with him." To Ging's amaze more knives dropped out of her sleeve. _Perhaps a conjurer? Or a manipulator?_ No one could guess that she was actually a transmuter.

He quickly jogged away, but still looking back from time to time. _I wonder who she really is… _He thought_. But Pariston won't tell me either. Besides, I'm not here for that anyways… I need to buy a map._

"Hmm~" Johness seemed satisfied. "This is a good activity after eating a full meal_…!_" He grabbed towards her and she threw her knife.

* * *

"You took quite long. I thought that you'd come here early…" Feitan said in an icy as he stared at her with cold eyes. "How disrespectful to an older member… And is that Oden I smell?"

Mizutsuki held up some Oden take-outs. "Yeah, got into a little trouble on the way but I solved it. I must say; amateur killers really are annoying…" She handed Feitan the take-out. "Did you eat the apple?"

"I fed it to a dog." They started walking. "It's obvious that you did something to it…"

"I turned it into a sour apple that could have broken the world record for sourness. But don't worry, those take-outs are fine. Got them as a gift… of some sorts."

"Judging from the traces of killing aura you have on you, you got into a fight with someone beside an Oden stand. And the stand owner died along your fight; you helped yourself to these take-outs after that. The police came and you hid for the next five hours. I hear some police sirens about six hours ago; figured that it was you…" He shook his head. "Another Loudie in the Ryodan to create more headaches…"

She snorted. "A _Loudie_? Never heard of that…" She still wondered who that man was. But soon she forgot and Ging forgot as well. Because they both had greater things to do.

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point two – He seems to have a liking in Oden. _

* * *

**This chapter was more of a filler maybe; I don't know. I wanted to include as many people as possible in this story without making it unnatural. And smart Feitan; you noticed that Mizu did something to the apple, tsk, tsk. I'm not sure what's a _Loudie_ either, I just made it up on the spot. ****And Ging's '_I need to buy a map_' part is responding to the omake earlier! Haha.**

**You know now? You know now? You know now. I've finished giving you the final hint and it's about _location_. (BAM, a hint about a hint.)You know what the third arc is about now right? \(O.O)/**

**My reply to reviews:**

**_Ellixie_: You could never guess... when I finished this chapter it was like 4 a.m. in my place. Have to admit, I have a terrible sleeping pattern.**

**_Cocoamilo_: Glad you liked it! And yeah what if Pariston's ability is ****really ****to conjure sparkles...? *gasp*. And I don't know why he can come up with such good theories either *cough cough*. Having to write about someone who is smart is really hard; because you have to act smart too when you're not... AND DON'T WORRY. YOUR QUESTION OF MIZU'S LICENSE SHALL BE ANSWERED IN THE FOURTH ARC WITH A GIANT PLOT TWIST. (But that's still a long way to go, ha.)**

**Review! (And Favorite!)**


	28. Chapter 28

"_We're thieves; we steal_."

Feitan, being the good sempai he is, is teaching the Newbie the rules of the Ryodan. (Thereby threatening her that if she does anything fishy, he would not hesitate to kill her ((Like she didn't know that already). Mizutsuki was somewhat tired of guarding his killing aura twenty-four-seven.

"Normally, we can do things as we like. However, if Danchou gathers us, we must be there."

She adjusted her backpack. "As far as I know, Ryodan members aren't supposed to go real while fighting each other. If you kill me, wouldn't that oppose the rules?"

"The rules are absolute. But that does not apply if you betray us…" His eyes were steel. "As much as you say how you hated the Mafia, they still raised you and you have some amount of emotions for them… Who knows if you would betray us or not…"

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"Yes."

"Tsk…"

"Danchou said this when the Ryodan was first created." Feitan continued on. "I think that you should know… Inside the Spider, Danchou is the head and we are the legs. Logically, the legs should obey what the head says. However, this is only about running the organization; it is not about life or death. If the head dies, just let someone else take the place. Sometimes, the legs are more important than the head. As spider can still live without a head. But it would be a corpse without legs. Danchou's orders are always first. But Danchou's life is not first; because Danchou is also just a member. The one who should survive is not one's selves, it's the Ryodan."

He shot a glare at her. "Do not forget this…"

"I _know_." A stern expression came onto her face. "I figured that there was a reason why the Spider is so strong."

"Hmph…" Feitan put his hands into his pockets.

"What is Danchou going to tell us to steal this time?" She waved a map around in the air. "According to the map descriptions, the meeting place is just a normal town. Actually, it's a rather poor town. There's nothing much worthy of us to steal."

"Danchou must have his means of gathering us here…" Feitan replied. "Don't question, just do."

"Moral of the Spiders: _No betrayal_. Motto of the Spiders: _Chaos_…"

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point three – He actually hides a rather feminine face under his collar._

* * *

"Mizutsuki, Feitan." Chrollo nodded as the two of them entered the hideout. "All the members are here now…" Danchou stood up. "I guess that I will announce the things that we are going to steal this time now…"

Mizutsuki surveyed the members that were present. Franklin – _she was not familiar with him but he seems level-headed enough_. Pakunoda – _the true Ice Queen with the beautiful S-line_. Bonolenov – _the mummy whom she was quite friendly with_. Coltopi – _the adorable Fur-ball_. Nobunaga – _the hot-blooded samurai with his ridiculous samurai hairstyle_. Uvogin – _the muscular Tarzan; he was easy to talk to actually_. Shalnark – _one of her few friends in the Ryodan_. Machi – _also one of her close friends; her pink hair was incredible as always_. Phinks – _she still owed him a steak lunch. _

Feitan sat down with the crowd, waiting for Danchou to speak up too. She sat down between Pakunoda and Bonolenov.

Chrollo cleared his throat. "The Scarlet Eyes of the Kurta Clan." He said calmly. "That is what we're going to steal this time…"

There was silence upon the group. It was about thirty seconds later someone finally spoke up. "Danchou, what is_ The Scarlet Eyes_?" Uvogin asked. "Is it really eyes or a piece of jewel those Jurta Clan people own?"

"_Kurta_." Chrollo corrected. "And the Scarlet Eyes are _eyes_. Though typically brown, the irises belonging to members of the Kurta Clan glow scarlet when the person was emotionally agitated. If a member of the Kurta Clan dies in that state, his/her eyes permanently stay scarlet postmortem. They are treated as a rare jewel by many due to the Scarlet Eyes being considered one of the most gorgeous colors in the world."

"I've heard of that," Franklin piped up. "The seven most gorgeous colors of the world. The Scarlet Eyes belongs to second place with their brilliant scarlet color."

Chrollo nodded. "Yes, and to obtain these scarlet eyes, we will have to massacre said clan. Make sure that their emotions are agitated when you kill them. The more agitated they are; the more beautiful colors their eyes would reflect."

Shalnark nodded slowly. "So Danchou, where is this clan? And by the way, where is Omokage?" He looked around.

"Speaking of it, I haven't seen him either…" Coltopi's one visible eyeball rolled around their new hideout. Scanning for any signs of Omokage.

"Omokage is taking a long vacation off." Chrollo said calmly. None of the Ryodan members dared as why anymore after. "And the clan is living hidden somewhere inside the mountain jungles near this town. Because that we don't know where, we need to investigate first."

There was a bobble of nodding heads among the Ryodan members.

Chrollo looked at Mizutsuki and she felt a shiver crawling down her spine. "Mizutsuki," Chrollo said calmly. "You are a new member to us, and we do not know your abilities completely yet. However, we do have a clue that it has something to do with altering pH. So this is a chance to improve your relationship with other members…" Danchou's piercing eyes swiped across the members. "Feitan, Phinks, Machi. You three and Mizu here would be a team." He glanced at Mizutsuki. "Is it okay to call you Mizu?"

She was already sweat-dropping of Danchou's decision. Machi was definitely fine, and Phinks wasn't too bad either. But Feitan… she was going to have a hard time eating and sleeping… "Sure…" She managed to answer Danchou's question. "If it's Danchou…"

Chrollo nodded. "Well then, Bonolenov, Coltopi, and Franklin will stay here at the base. The rest of you would be the other group. Rest for a few hours before going out to gather info. I know that you are all very tired."

As soon as Danchou finished his words, he sat back down and pulled a book out of his coat. The members started to relax as well, some rolling around to take naps and some paced around the room mindlessly. Shalnark pulled out a deck of cards and started playing with Coltopi and Franklin.

Mizutsuki couldn't relax like any of them. But she did relax a little when Machi waved her over. "Mizu."

"Hey Machi." Mizutsuki walked over. "How are you doing?"

"So-so. You?"

"...Still alive." She shot a wary glance at Feitan.

Machi followed her gaze. "I see… So? How was the Hunter Exam?"

She sat down beside Machi. "Does everyone know about that already?" She asked as she tossed her the Hunter license card.

Machi caught it and examined it carefully. If she hadn't stopped her in time Machi would have ran off to the International Science Research Center to have the little card examined, and see what wonders it held. (Hold on, that sounds familiar) "Hmm… Doesn't look very pretty." She tossed the card back.

Mizutsuki caught it. "It's not made to be pretty." She shrugged. "I don't really want it either. I just wanted to kill time."

"So did you kill time?"

She nodded. "Yeah, more or less. Phinks was with me too."

Machi looked speechless. "_Phinks_?" She echoed with a glance at said eyebrow-less man. Phinks stared back at her. "_What_?" He deadpanned.

"Nothing." Machi shook her head and turned back. "How did _that_ happen?" She demanded. "More importantly, why are you still alive?"

Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "Ehh, I met up with Shalnark and Nobunaga first after my mission. And I asked Shal if there was something to kill time with. He just signed me up for the Hunter Exams." She decided to leave out Pariston's part of the story. "And when I found the steak house that was supposed to be the starting point of the Exams, I found Phinks eating lunch there…"

Machi facepalmed. "Phinks and Steak… Hah, I'm not surprised… Muscle idiot he is…"

"I heard that." Phinks snapped.

Machi waved him off. "Whatever, then?"

"After her tried to strangle me multiple times. He finally admitted that he had nothing to do and just might as well play with me. We were taken to a underground mine where the magical beast Nosferatu lived. And we were given a month's time to navigate our way out of the mines and defeat the beasts that were in our way."

"Hmm, sounds amusing. So? How did you guys do that? If I was there, I could have led you through with my nen thread. But I wasn't. How did you guys navigate your way out?"

"Ehh, Phinks called me a cheater but whatever. The Hunter Association never said that we had to stay inside the mines twenty-four-seven. So we walked out of the starting point and went into town. At the town we looked up a map of the mines and ways to defeat the Nosferatu."

Machi nodded slowly. "Okay… I guess that would work too. They never said that you can't use a map. They just told you to be at the other side in a month."

"And you have to walk _through_ the mines." Mizutsuki added. "But yeah, that's it."

"Okay, actually, that was quite smart. Thinking outside of the box and all. Figured that the Hunter Association wanted cheaters like you."

Mizutsuki sweat-dropped. "What cheater…" She stammered.

"Meh, it doesn't matter. Speaking of it, have you arm wrestled with the members yet?"

Mizutsuki nodded. "Yeah, three times. With Shalnark, Nobunaga, and Phinks."

"If you arm wrestled Phinks, does that mean you won against Shal and that buffoon?" She pointed at Nobunaga, snoozing away in an _amazing_ position. (Uvogin and Bonolenov were trying to predict tomorrow's weather with Nobunaga's drool right now.)

Mizutsuki laughed. "_Buffoon_… yeah, I did."

"I don't think that you won against Phinks, correct?"

"I lost and demanded nine rematches."

"That's stupid."

"Hey!"

Ignoring her protests, Machi took a deep breath and called. "Oy Franklin! Feitan! Danchou! Bonolenov! Come here for a sec!"

Mizutsuki's face went pale. "Wait a minute, Machi, don't tell me…"

"C'mon, it's just arm wrestling." Machi cracked her knuckles. "I'll go first. Then we can decide if you're going to battle Franklin and Feitan, or Danchou and Bonolenov."

"Oh dear…" Mizutsuki mumbled. Somehow all the members had gathered around them and were watching excitedly; with the exception of Nobunaga, who was still snoozing. She gave in and held out her hand. "Let's go, Machi."

"I won't go easy on you…" Machi seemed to grin.

Shalnark, who posed himself as referee, held up a hand. "Ready… set… _go_!"

Mizutsuki and Machi's strength clashed and both of them gritted their teeth. Mizutsuki could feel how strong of an opponent Machi was. She was much weaker than Phinks; but far better than Nobunaga. Mizutsuki slowly felt tired but she forced herself to go on. Machi bit her lips and continued to force her opponent's hand towards the table. The two girls' hands stayed in midair for a long time. The rest of the Ryodan members watched carefully at the intense battle. They could almost feel the aura of strength reeking out of their fists.

Then SLAM! Machi slammed Mizutsuki's hand onto the table and took a deep breath. "I win." She panted.

"That was a good match." Mizutsuki replied with a tired grin. "So who am I going to battle now?"

"Danchou and Bono." Machi replied. Bonolenov took her place at the opposite side of the table. "We'll both use our weak hands so it would be fair." The mummy said calmly. "And your good hand can rest while we battle with our weak hands."

"Sounds good…" Mizutsuki sighed and held up her weak hand.

Bonolenov took off his boxer gloves and she blinked. _Holes…?_

"Ready… set… go!"

Her battle with Bonolenov was much more epic compared to her battle with Machi. Since they were both using their weak hands, it made the match much more exciting. She couldn't make out Bonolenov's expression as his face was covered up completely by bandages. But she could see that he was struggling. The air around their fists trembled of their reeking aura. After a long time of adding strength and gritting teeths, Mizutsuki slammed Bonolenov's fist onto the table. "I win…" She moaned and collapsed. "That was tiring…"

Uvogin nodded slowly. "So you have to battle Danchou next."

Phinks crossed his arms. "Tsk, if you can demand a rematch nine times with me, this should be a piece of cake for you."

Mizutsuki held out her left hand, which had been resting; Chrollo sat down across to her and held out his hand too. Mizutsuki chewed the insides of her cheeks. "Is this really okay?" She asked.

Everyone stared at her. "What's okay?" Franklin asked.

"I mean, battling leader in arm wrestle, isn't this disrespectful or something…?"

Uvogin's laughter boomed around the room and the whole place trembled. Dusts and a few pices of concrete fell from the roof. The members covered up their ears. "Disrespectful?" He boomed and ruffled Mizutsuki's hair, making it like a haystack – messy. "You say such cute things! Listen here Newbie, we are the Genei Ryodan. Not some crappy Mafia family. Nothing is disrespectful here unless it's against the rules. And arm wrestling against Danchou is not against the rules. So go ahead!"

She nodded slowly and pulled the strands of hair out of her face. "Okay Danchou," She took a deep breath. "I'm ready…"

"Okay."

"Ready… set… go!" Shalnark exclaimed.

Mizutsuki, despite being rather afraid of Danchou, _did_ use her full strength. She still had shadows of the Mafia's teaching in her mind but she shook it all away. Concentrating only on the arm wrestle match against Chrollo. This was the longest match among all the three matches. Danchou won in the end, but she was satisfied enough. _If my good arm had more rest, maybe the results would be different. _She thought._ But whatever…_

Danchou, after taking a deep breath, stood up and clapped his hands. "Okay everyone, show's over. It's time for you guys to get to work now…"

* * *

**Sorry that I took so long to update and Feitan didn't appear much in this chapter. Because I accidently deleted the original file and had to rewrite this chapter again... *lost gaze* But yeah, it's here now. I'll try to keep up with the Feitan Observation Diaries; and the one about his feminine face, have you ever seen it? I don't think that the Hunter Wiki says it but it's on Wikipedia in Chinese and Japanese (Yes, I speak those languages so I know.). Though I must admit; he looks more feminine in the 1999 version instead of the 2011 version.(Yes! I ignored Omokage once again! I'm so proud of myself.) (-w-)**

**Reply to reviews:**

**_Uber Tofu Man_ (lol I love your name): Thank you for your support! I will continue to make up weird puns like that. I originally wanted to include Abengane sneezing or something but meh... (And yes, Pariston is taboo. _Shhhhhh_)**

**_Aiko_: Thank you for your support! It's okay if your review is short, at least you did and you had a reason.**

**_Cocoamilo_: I seriously love your reviews so much I don't know where to start. I mean, yeah, Feitan screams BOSS all over, so how can he _not_ cross his legs like a boss? (And I'm not sure if dogs are okay to eat apples?) Ging, yes, go find your map and meet Gon already; you're winning the Crappiest Father of the Century Award. And Yes you guessed it right, it's the Kurta Massacre (*background music*). But you got one thing wrong here, I'm sad to say. I don't think that I can manage to write eighty chapters of a single arc; I meant that the WHOLE story would be eighty chapters. I'm aiming for about ten chapters to fifteen chapters too on this arc. Though I wonder how long is the longest story on Fanfiction net?**

**BTW: Have you guys ever heard the Hunter X Hunter drama CDs? They're so funny XD. The Ryodan goes out eating (causing major damage to the restaurant), Nobunaga finds a cockroach in his En and freaks out... etc. They're all about hilarious and random stories of the HxH characters.**

**Review! (And Favorite!)**


	29. Chapter 29

"Umm..."

...

"Ehh..."

...

"Jeesh..."

...

"Can one of you guys just tell me why the atmosphere is so damn gloomy?" Phinks finally snapped.

The two girls looked away while Feitan ignored him. The heavy atmosphere between the four could have crushed a normal grown adult.

Mizutsuki could feel Feitan's gaze piercing into her back. Machi, who was walking beside her, could feel it too though not as strong. _Holy hell... _She sweatdropped. _Shorty is scarier than Pharaoh! _

Machi tried to turn the topic. "So how are we going to find the Clan?" She asked. "They live hidden in these jungles, correct?"

"Yeah..." Phinks nodded. He slapped Mizutsuki on her back and she jumped. "Time for your stupid license to show its magic."

"Wha..." She whined. "I don't wanna use the license so soon though. Besides, if we need a Hunter license to search up the Kurta clan. Shalnark can do it."

"Are you afraid that the Hunter Association would track you?" He deadpanned. "Because a world-famous criminal showed up at the Exam and all the Blacklist Hunters would want such a big fish? No way!"

"It's rare that you'd give some actual advice..." Machi said calmly. "Mizu, I agree with what Phinks says. You got a Hunter license. They'll treat you as a Hunter with respect..."

Feitan nodded slowly. "I agree of not using the Hunter license." He breathed. "If you are trying to give the Hunter Association clues of where we are..." His hand transformed into claws.

Machi, Mizutsuki, and Phinks all felt the piercing killing aura and they jumped.

"_Feitan_!" Phinks snapped. "Can you _not_ think of killing someone so quickly every time? Gosh even I'm being creeped out now!"

"You're the one that's acting weird!" Feitan shot back. "I thought that you hated her too?"

"I still do, though not as much. After the Hunter Exam deal, I have come to accept that she is someone whom we can trust as a member. Although she's weird and annoying."

"Hmph."

"Hmph." (This was from Mizutsuki.)

Machi shot an annoyed glance at Feitan. "Fei, trust Mizu more."

"You two are too easily deceived, but I'm not..."

"Stubborn Fei..." Machi muttered.

Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "Yeah... After all I did once oppose you guys. The fact that I hid your target painting is true too..."

"Good to see that you have some self-consciousness."

"That's all history you know Feitan?" Machi muttered. "She killed the Mafia that raised her, isn't that enough to prove her loyalty towards us?"

"No."

"May I ask why?"

"She gave me an apple that she had altered the sweetness before."

Machi and Phinks stared at him, then at their new member. Who was facepalming deeply. "Seriously?" They said in unison.

"Yeah, that did happen." She nodded. "But he fed it to a dog."

"Dammit Fei, you're acting like some stubborn old man." Phinks muttered. "You can hate her all you want. But if you do not trust her, it would be a problem for the whole Ryodan."

"You guys shouldn't trust her either." Feitan snapped back. "Instinct tells me that she's the backstabbing type."

"Feitan, if it's about instincts, I'm better than you." Machi said. "Mizu you should say something too. You're a recognized member of the Ryodan. You have the right to speak."

Mizutsuki managed a smile (She was straining to control her face muscles not to twitch.). "If I said something, we might break into a fight. Fighting is not allowed among members, right...?" **(^"^#)?**

Phinks coughed. "There's a vein bulging on your cheek, Mizutsuki."

"... Oh my..."

Feitan snorted. "You're nowhere near convincing..."

"Ah, another vein." Machi pointed.

"..._Godammit_."

* * *

"Let's split up here." Phinks suggested as they reached downtown. "Meet back here in two hours."

"On pairs? Or on ones?" Mizutsuki asked.

"Ones."

Machi cracked her neck. "Well then, see you guys in two hours." She walked towards the path leading to the east part of town.

Feitan walked for the North part without uttering a word. But he did shoot a glare at Mizutsuki.

She laughed dryly after he was gone. "Seems like I'm very hated by someone..."

"Fei is the King of Stubbornness of Stubborntopia." Phinks shrugged. "He's also the king of Coldblooded Mass Murderers."

Mizutsuki waved away the topic. "Whatever; it doesn't matter. I'm going South."

"I'll go West than..."

Mizutsuki walked off towards the direction she choose. After a long while she finally got used to the normal atmosphere without Feitan's pressuring gaze like a knife on her back. She also noticed that quite a few of them were calling her _Mizu_ now. Ehh, normally she'd correct others who called her names other than _Mizutsuki_; but she didn't know what to do in this case. Danchou asked for permission to call her Mizu. But she only agreed to Danchou _only_; not the whole Ryodan. But it was fine, probably…

Mizutsuki walked along the road to the edge of the town. When she was about to turn and walk back, she noticed a peculiar sign.

**STAY AWAY, RED EYED FREAKS**. The capitol letters screamed. The sign was painted carelessly, but that didn't bother her a bit. What mattered was the '_RED EYED FREAKS_' it wrote on there…

She grabbed a man walking pass her and pointed to the sign. "Excuse me, mister." She said. "Would you happen to know who set up that sign?"

The man frowned. "Huh? That sign? I think that it was the crazy old grandma that lives over there…" He pointed down the street. "Crazy woman, she is… What do you want to do with her? Or those red eyed people?" The last sentence was added hastily after a moment's consideration.

Mizutsuki smiled sweetly and said in a sugar sweet tone. "It's none of your business." She said. "You can go die now."

Before the man could react, she had shoved a knife into his heart and threw him into the rice fields beside them. He landed with a splash in the waters. The blood stained the muddy waters and the farmers rushed near to check what happened

"Ehh, I better stay away from rice from now on." She muttered and walked away in long strides.

For some reason one of the mottos of the Ryodan rang in her mind: _Death is the solution to everything. _She wondered why did the sentence suddenly rang in her head, but she figured it out ten minutes later.

After she knocked on the door and explained who she was and why she was there (everything she said was made up.), the grandma started throwing everything within her reach at her and screamed. "DO NOT GO NEAR THEM AND DO NOT ASK OF THEM!" The old woman screamed and whacked her head with her cane. "THEY ARE EVIL! DO NOT SPEAK OF THEM IN FRONT OF ME!"

Mizutsuki dodged a flying lamp and went to hide behind a turnover table. "What a cheerful grandma…" She huffed. _She's gonna alert the neighbors like this… _Four knives slipped out of her left sleeve and the aura on her right hand turned into acid. _Let's say… about four seconds…?_ She could hear footsteps of her granddaughter walking down the hall, bringing tea.

Jumping out from behind the table and facing the tantrum-throwing grandma, she threw the three knives and it pinned her perfectly onto the wall. Before the grandma could register what had happened, she had grabbed the arm of the granddaughter and caused a severe burn.

"Alrighty then…" She said cheerfully. "I suppose that we can negotiate peacefully now…?"

The grandma and granddaughter tried to scream but Mizutsuki threw a knife into the wall, inches away from the grandma's head. "Uh-oh, my hand slipped." She sang. "It was aiming for your head, grandma. So; scream, I'll kill you. Call for help, I'll kill you. Struggle, I'll kill you. Beg for mercy, I'll kill you too. Any questions?"

_Silence_.

"I'll take that as a no. So why did you guys put up a sign of the '_Red Eyed Monsters_' at the edge of town?"

"A few days ago… two boys with red eyes got into a fight with three juvenile delinquents… their power were inhuman!" The granddaughter was biting back tears. Her arm was ruined; it would have to be cut off. The burnt was too serious.

"Where did they go?" Mizutsuki continued to ask.

"DO NOT ASK SUCH FORBIDDEN THINGS! YOU WILL GET CURSED!" The old woman screamed.

"Granny!" The girl wailed.

"Where did the monsters go?" Mizutsuki asked again.

"They headed south-east, but it's all forest and jungles in that place…" The granddaughter answered hurriedly, shooting meaningful glances at her grandma. Who didn't seem to understand a thing.

"Thanks." Mizutsuki smiled. "See? It wasn't all that hard right? But I have to ask, comparing me to the monsters, which is stronger?"

"…"

Mizutsuki's knife embedded itself in the old woman's forehead and the granddaughter screamed. She immediately placed her hand – transformed into claws – by her neck. The young girl gulped. "Answer me." Mizutsuki said softly, almost blowing the words into her ear.

"…You are…" The granddaughter mumbled.

"Thanks." Her claws went through the victim's throat.

* * *

She met up with the other three and they headed back to their base. "Did you guys find anything?" She asked.

"Nope." Machi said. "They live in secret more than we thought."

"Hmph." This was Feitan.

"And you? I don't think that you'd get yourself into a fight for nothing." Phinks pointed at her white hoodie, splattered with blood here and there.

"Yeah, it seems like two members of the Kurta clan came shopping here some days ago."

Machi nodded. "Good job."

Feitan's piercing gaze crawled back onto her back and the atmosphere grew heavy again. Mizutsuki silently decided that if she doesn't get friendly with him by the end of this mission, she would have a hard time staying in the Ryodan then on.

They arrived back at the hideout later than the other group. Shalnark had stolen a laptop and was already Googling up the Kurta clan's whereabouts. "Hey guys," He nodded. "You're back."

"An old woman said that they left the town towards the South-East direction." Mizutsuki said. "Would that be of help or did we do nothing?"

"Oh no, that would be plenty of help." Shalnark smiled. "Just the information I needed. Now, if we zoom in on the satellites… _Bingo_!"

The crowd gathered in, Shalnark pointed to the screen. "Although it's not really clear, there are some houses hidden inside the jungles about 350-450 kilometers to the south-east part of town. That's gotta be the Kurta tribe!"

Eleven heads bobbled up and down.

Chrollo nodded. "Good job, everyone. We will attack around midnight. I will not question how you guys are planning to kill them. But remember: when you cut off their heads, make sure their eyes are red…"

For dinner they called Chinese take-outs and Mizutsuki killed the delivery boy (Like she didn't kill enough people already today). Uvogin and Nobunaga had dared her to do it. Machi and Pakunoda had called them idiots, and Danchou just smiled. "Don't bully the new member too much, Uvo, Nobunaga…"

Mizutsuki shot a sideways glance at Feitan upon hearing Danchou's words.

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point four – He has a great liking for shrimp dumplings._

* * *

**I'm sorry for not updating, but I was on the plane. Summer is ending after all; after school starts I wouldn't be able to update as often either (So yeah...).**

**And I'm sooo disappointed in you guys *angrily stomps foot*! NO REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER QAQ. You guys know how much I love reviews, WHY? (TTmTT)**

**But yeah, I'm in no position of saying that either. I've been listening to the Genei Ryodan Drama CDs on repeat these days and I'm laughing my head off XDD. Oh Genei Ryodan, you so awesome.**

**REVIEW! ~~~(/O口O)/**


	30. Chapter 30

Mizutsuki cracked her neck and started to warm up, stretching her arms and legs. "Are we ready to go?" She asked.

Machi nodded. Shalnark clapped his hands. "Alright! We'll do as planned. Danchou, Coltopi, and Bonolenov are staying guard of the base. Mizu, Machi, Feitan will attack from the North-West side of the clan village. Franklin, Phinks, and I will go from the North. Pakunoda, Nobunaga and Uvogin are attacking from the entrance gate and act as decoy. According to Mizu's witness' description, those Kurta clan people are very strong.

"I think that it is just them exaggerating." Pakunoda said. "Mizutsuki, did you ask them about the comparison between yourself and them?"

"They were two children." Franklin said. "I went out for a walk just now and heard about this. Mizutsuki could be stronger than two children, but we don't know about adults."

"_Hah_? How come that sounded a little infuriating?" Mizutsuki scowled.

"There, there, Mizu-chan." Nobunaga ruffled her hair with a snort – He was treating her like a child. "They didn't mean anything rude, eh?"

"I'll permit the _Mizu_, but not the _chan_." She deadpanned, letting out a wisp of killing aura. Almost instantly Feitan shot her a murderous glare.

"Newbie, if you do anything fishy, I'll cut your head off along with those Kurta people..."

Mizutsuki sighed. "Yeah, I know..."

A few hours ago she had silently grabbed Phinks aside and asked him advice on how to get familiar with Feitan. He shrugged and said: "You'll get familiar with him after a fight." That could have gotten the _Most-Useless-Advice-of-the-Year-_Award; it wasn't like that she could actually use her _nen_ on members. He also reminded her that she owed him a steak lunch.

Shalnark rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Release all your anger at each other on the Kurta people. Then, start brand new!"

"Shal, you're not helping." Franklin said calmly.

Shalnark looked at the pressuring atmosphere between Mizutsuki and Feitan. "Yeah... Anyways, let's go!"

Everyone was gone in a flash, their legs carrying them at the superhuman speed.

In the matter of a few seconds Feitan was at the front of the team. Mizutsuki, although unwilling, had to admit that she was astonished at his speed. She jumped onto the vertical walls of the buildings and continued her run. She was followed by some others, but most stayed on the ground until they encountered a crowd too thick to run through.

Nobunaga was running on the walls with no problem too until an old lady suddenly opened her window and he jumped horizontally to the wall on the other side of the street. "What the hell was that?" He screamed.

"Watch out where you're going, stupid samurai." Machi said. "Or you'd run into another old lady opening her window."

"Oy Machi! You stay around Mizutsuki too much you're sounding like her! I have a name, I'm not _stupid samurai_!"

"Whatever! Stupid buffoon." She called back and resorted to jumping over the rooftops.

"MACHI!"

The normal people on the street who noticed them stared at them in awe. "What is that?" One girl cried.

"They must be ninjas!" Another exclaimed. "Like Naruto! Look! There's Sakura with her pink hair!" She pointed at Machi.

"Who is Sakura?" Machi addressed no one.

To nearly everyone's surprise it was Feitan who answered. "A female main character of the popular shounen manga series Naruto. She is also a healing ninja and has pink hair with enhanced strength."

"Hmm~ Sounds like Machi. Healer, pink hair, and great strength."

Machi seemed rather annoyed that she was made a reference to a manga character. "Although I'm physically strongest of all the girls in the Ryodan, I'm not an enhancer." She spat and took up speed.

"I'm more interested in why Feitan would know who a shounen manga character is." Mizutsuki said. "He doesn't strike me as the type who'd read manga." She resorted to jumping over the rooftops as well.

"He doesn't." Franklin answered dully. "He only plays the games. He and Phinks are video game otakus."

"What... surprising information." Mizutsuki's face twitched. If they were sitting in a restaurant instead of jumping over rooftops now, she would have spewed all her drink out.

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point five - He is a video game otaku... *sweats*_

* * *

"Everyone knows that. Apparently they've been eyeing a game for some time now. But they haven't found a copy yet. I doubt that they'd get their hands on one any soon though…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Oh..." She nodded. Currently, there were forty-two knives stocked under her hoodie and up her sleeve. And she wasn't tired at all; you could say that she was in her best condition. Thus she just had a nice warm-up of killing four people.

"Although it's Danchou's orders, I have to say," She sighed. "I'm not familiar with torturing."

"What do you usually do?" Franklin frowned.

"Kill my targets, clean up the scene, get my payment and get out of there." She jumped over the last rooftop and landed on the ground, following others and dashing to the outskirts. "My ability isn't exactly the best for torture."

"I agree with that. Feitan's too."

She glanced up at the man. "Shor-Feitan?" She echoed, almost saying _Shorty_ instead of _Feitan_.

"Your abilities are very similar." Franklin explained calmly. "Wide-ranged and deadly at the same time. But Fei needs to meet conditions before he uses his ability, unlike you. His ability is stronger overall."

"What is his ability?" Mizutsuki asked. "And what does it have to do with our conversation just now?"

"Feitan's ability is like yours, it does not help much at all in torture. But he is the torturer for the Ryodan. Even if you don't have a suiting ability. All you need is the right equipment, conditions, and feeling."

"I think that I can get what you're saying..." She nodded slowly and dodged a low branch; they had officially entered the jungles. "It's like killing them, just with a slower pace."

Franklin could see that her aura glowed turquoise; it was the color of the deadly acid aura that covered her whole body. "You can slowly burn or melt their body parts. That outta hurt" He suggested helpfully.

"I see." Mizutsuki nodded in agreement. "Thanks Franklin; that was a good lesson."

"Welcome."

Mizutsuki went ahead. _Franklin is a nice person after all._ She thought. _It seems like you could learn a lot about the members from him. _She caught up with Shalnark and nodded. "Shal."

"Ah, Mizu!" Shalnark smiled. "Are you tired or something? Do you need to rest?"

She snorted. "No, who do you think I am? I'm here to ask you a few things..." She jumped over a fallen tree trunk and continued swinging over the branches. "Is Feitan _that_ good at torture?"

Shalnark laughed. "Are you still stuck on the matter? Yes, he is."

"How good exactly?"

The blonde frowned. "That is actually a hard question to answer. Because that isn't something you can compare..."

"How about past examples?"

"Hmm, I think that one day Nobunaga pissed him off. But because members aren't allowed to fight, he went out onto the street and grabbed a random guy. He locked and tortured the guy in the cellar for about two weeks before his anger finally faded."

Mizutsuki's jaw popped open and she screamed. "TWO WEEKS?" _Bam_! She ran into a tree. Shalnark immediately slowed down and ran back. "Oh my god, Mizu are you okay?"

She groaned. "My dignity isn't okay."

"You're not talking sense Mizu." Shalnark sighed. "You must have hit your head very hard."

"No, my head is fine, my dignity isn't."

"Wha…?"

"My dignity is in danger."

"I still don't get what you're talking about."

"_Fine_, this is a complicated topic."

Uvogin came swinging over and landed beside them. "That was hilarious!" He was choking back tears of laughter. "The best tree-crash I've ever seen! You'd make a good comedian Mizu."

"No, I won't." Her glare was murderous; like, packed with evil. Both Shalnark and Uvogin felt a chill running down their spine. _The Mafia trained her well on glares… _they thought.

Mizutsuki stood up and patted her dirt off her clothes. "Damn, we're behind. Hurry." She speeded off again and left them behind. After exchanging a tired glance Shalnark and Uvogin followed after.

"What a troublesome maknae." Uvogin sighed.

Shalnark laughed. "Ahaha, but she _is_ a typical Transmuter. Transmutation users have unique attitudes, and many are regarded as weirdos or cheaters and they rarely reveal their true intentions."

"Pfft, well, that's true. According to Phinks, she _is_ quite a cheater. And she also owes him a steak lunch."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"When they're going out for lunch lets tag along and make her treat us to steak as well."

Shalnark laughed dryly. "That's a little mean, Mizu would be really mad. It isn't too hard to imagine her as the S type." He shuddered. "If she used a whip instead of knives…"

"I never expected those words to come out of your mouth, Shalnark."

"I'm a male too!"

"I'll bet you a hundred bucks she's the Tsundere type." Uvogin grinned. "Machi would be the Kuudere type and Paku is probably Dandere."

Shalnark looked thoughtful. "Really? But I wouldn't be surprised if they're Yandere either. Just provoke them correctly and BAM! Three new Yandere members…"

"Hey… that comment is even scarier than what you said about Mizutsuki being the S type…"

"Really? Ahaha…" **(;¬_¬) (OωO;)**

"What are you guys talking about behind our backs?" Machi suddenly appeared and snapped.

"EEK!"

"Don't waste your time talking with them, Machi," Mizutsuki appeared and cracked her knuckles. A vein could be seen clearly on her cheek. "Just beat them up and get it over with…"

"Hey-hey-hey! We're on a mission!" Shalnark cried.

Machi looked thoughtful. "Hmm… that's right I suppose… fine, we'll deal with you guys later. Let's go Mizu."

"Okay."

The two girls took up their speed again and caught up with the others at the front. "Oh god." Machi facepalmed. "_Men_."

Mizutsuki nodded. "I understand, Machi. Being one of the only three girls in a thirteen-man organization is tough."

"Tell me about it… Paku."

Pakunoda glanced at them. "Hmm?"

"Let's hang out after the job is over." Machi suggested. "Mizu too."

Mizutsuki frowned and dodged a tree – she didn't want to run into one again. "Why so suddenly?"

"Sometimes I need a break from all these stupid men." Machi replied (All the men who heard it shot her a glance.). "The three girls, okay?"

Pakunoda nodded. "Sure, I'm fine with that."

"Me too." Mizutsuki nodded. Although she was still somewhat afraid of Pakunoda, she thought that this might be an opportunity to know her better. "Let's decide on the location later."

But aside from Pakunoda, there was another person who she was deathly afraid of. Now that she entered his AIM field, she could feel his killing aura pressing down on her. Yes, Feitan was the main problem now. She can get friendly with Pakunoda after, but for now, she needs to focus on her not-so-good relationship with Feitan.

She decided to follow Phinks' advice; as stupid as it sounds. She wasn't going to actually fight with Feitan – she'd die anyways without nen – she was going to _impress_ him in the mission. Let him acknowledge her as a powerful opponent and respect her as a member.

* * *

**Ehh, I think that this was more of a filler chapter, or I'm subconsciously dragging things; hm. I'll admit that Fei didn't appear much until now although the arc is about him. I'll work on that *wink*.**

**Something I need to talk about. The reason for me to update so quickly, is because that I ALWAYS write. Even without my laptop, I always type it on my phone and mail it to myself later. Because I have auto-correct on, there are things that may sound weird due to it. I normally just skim for grammar, so I don't notice the spelling errors often. Please excuse me for that. (Yes, I'm a careless author. (#= 皿 =)/Σ(- _ -;) *slap*) (Where's a beta reder when I need one?)**

**And something I am pondering about. I have promised to explain why Mizu lost her license in the fourth arc (which is the next arc), but now I've thought up another brilliant arc idea and I kinda want to add it in between. I need your opinions (although I'll still have to meet conditions to actually write it in).**

**Stay tuned~**


	31. Chapter 31

**WARNING: This chapter will be a little... twisted? psychopathic? I don't know either. Enjoy! *dodges out of the way***

* * *

"Alright… we'll do as planned… ready, go!"

The Spiders spread out into their own little teams to surround the village. Mizutsuki was paired with Machi and Feitan; they ran around to the other side of the village and hid up in the trees. Machi had her nen threads ready and Mizutsuki had coated herself in acid.

"Fei, you're in charge." Machi whispered.

It confused Mizutsuki how Feitan was appointed leader of their small group; she knew that he was strong, but still. She had the sense not to argue though.

Feitan's hands transformed into sharp claws – it was way sharper than Mizutsuki's. "Don't make too big of a fuss." He breathed. "It'll alert the other members of the clan…"

"Break the window?" Machi suggested.

"How about melt it?" Mizutsuki said instead. "It'll make absolutely no noise, I guarantee."

Feitan shot her a glance while Machi nodded. "Sounds fine. Fei?"

"…Whatever, go ahead if you want." Feitan sounded rather unwilling. But Mizutsuki's ability _was_ the best for silent infiltration.

"Hmph." She sneered and jumped out of the tree, landing without a sound on the roof of the house. She crawled over to the edge and flipped herself over the edge. The debris on the roof were perfect to prevent slipping, although it hurted her legs a little – she was hanging over the roof like middle-school students do on monkey bars.

After listening to the noise in the house, she held up her hand and gently put it onto the glass. Normally, glass doesn't melt easily at acid. But her nen was special; it can melt _anything_ and _everything,_ including other's nen as well. That was the power of _Vows and Limitations_.

She twisted her head back a little to see where the lock glass window melted open a hole and she reached in to unlock the window. Pulling the window open she slipped inside and motioned for Feitan and Machi to follow.

The two other members jumped inside, making nearly no noise at all. Despite the fact that the floor was old and squeaky.

Feitan nodded quietly. "Convenient…"

"Mizu and I will grab the people from downstairs." Machi said quietly. "Fei, we'll leave the torturing to you."

"Tsk, fine." Feitan crossed his arms, looking annoyed. It was funny in a way, since both the girls towered over him.

"Let's go, Mizu." Machi motioned for Mizutsuki to follow and opened the attic door. The two of them walked downstairs and poked around each room. There was an adult and a teenage boy sitting in the living room watching TV. A woman washing dishes in the kitchen, and a young girl drying her hair in her room.

"I'll take care of the woman and the girl." Mizutsuki whispered as they hid behind the walls. "Machi, you take the other two."

"Sure. Remember not to make any noises."

"Of course."

"Alright, go!"

Mizutsuki decided to get the girl from her room first. Thanks to the noise of the hairdryer, she did not notice her sneaking in. A knife slipped out of her sleeve and she slowly walked towards the girl.

The Kurta girl saw her sneaking upon her at the last second, being reflected by her mirror. She opened her mouth to scream but Mizutsuki slammed her palm across her mouth. Her acid aura burned the girl's mouth and cheeks and the girl let out a muffled cry.

Mizutsuki had a hard time holding the girl, since she kept on kicking and thrashing. "Mmmmph! Ummph!" She cried, tears of pain slid down her cheeks.

"Stay still godammit." She hissed and fell onto the girl's bed – she really needs to learn how to clean up her room. The girl continued thrashing.

Then she saw it. The girl's eyes had turned a beautiful scarlet red. The sight of it was magnificent. It was a brilliant color unable to be described by words. It was literally like fire dancing in their eyes; changing from red to orange to even pink. Even Mizutsuki was bewitched by the beauty of the color and forgot to think for a second.

"Mmmmph!" The girl's cries brought her back to reality.

Mizutsuki scowled and turned the girl around so she was over her. She held up her acid-covered hand and shoved it into her mouth, deep into the throat. "I told you to shut up." She hissed. The aura on her hand burned her throat and tongue. "Don't worry," she smiled kindly. "I controlled my aura so you wouldn't die… yet."

She pulled her fingers out of the girl's mouth and she gasped for air. It was painful just to look. Her pink, moist throat had been burned red and singed. Her tongue was nearly gone; as it had melted and tricked down her esophagus. The sourness of the acid burned the girl's dry throat even more. She stopped thrashing and her fingers clawed at her throat; her body twisted over in agony.

Her victim coughed for air. "_Ack… Ahh_…" She choked. As more tears slid down her cheeks, her scarlet eyes glowed even brighter.

"Now that's quieter…" Mizutsuki mused. "Now…" She slipped another knife out of her sleeve and shoved it into the girl's shoulders. Blood spurted all over her and into her eyes. The girl tried to scream but instantly choked on the air entering her burnt throat.

"Tsk…" Mizutsuki rubbed the red liquid out of her eyes and looked down at the defenseless girl. "You're really weak for the legendary Kurta…" She muttered. "Little _tart…!_"

She dragged the girl upstairs and found Feitan sitting on a wooden crate, reading a Trevor Brown book. She realized that it was the _Forbidden Fruit first edition limited special;_ her jaw dropped. Feitan must have stolen it from a wealthy collector; only 200 copies of that book were sold worldwide for being too bloody. She _must_ borrow that book from him someday_…!_ She was secretly a Trevor Brown fan; his daring art style and unique way of expressing his artworks fascinated her.

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point six: They have the same taste in books_

* * *

Feitan looked up. "Took you longer than I thought." He said coldly and snapped the book shut.

"Doesn't matter." Mizutsuki replied. "Is Machi back yet?"

"I trust her to take her time. But if you take too long, I'll think that you're up to something fishy."

"Tsk… Here you go." She threw the girl onto the floor. Feitan frowned at the two blades embedded in her shoulders and the thin line of blood by her lips.

"I thought that I said that _I_ will take care of the torturing?" He hissed.

Mizutsuki crossed her arms. "I only did the necessary things to prevent her from making noises or struggle."

Feitan kicked the girl and she hit the wall violently with a cough of blood. "What did you do exactly?"

"Pierced her through the shoulder with two knives, and burned her throat."

"At least you didn't do it too over…" Feitan walked over and grabbed the girl up by the hair. "Get the other ones." He ordered.

"Yes, yes…" She was sure now; she'll have to get familiar with him no matter what. (For the sake of that book…!)

She walked downstairs again and saw the woman still drying the dishes. What a slow woman, not realizing the situation yet… Another knife slipped out of her sleeve and she threw it at the woman's calf. It hit her perfectly and she crumbled, screaming in agony. "Whoops." Mizutsuki sighed.

In a second she was beside the woman. Using the same method as she did with her daughter, she burnt the woman's throat. But the woman struggled even more. She bit Mizutsuki's arm and the former assassin growled. "Don't be ridiculous…!" She spat and the acid aura on her arm melted the woman's teeth.

The woman immediately threw herself away from her and was slammed against the wall. Her hands were hesitant at which place to claw at first: her mouth or her throat. In the end she reached her hands into her mouth and clawed at both. Tears streamed down her cheeks and blood poured out of her mouth. She was still writhing around in pain. It was a hideous scene.

Mizutsuki picked up the kitchen knife lying on the counter and stabbed it through her other leg. "Don't move or cry, or I'll kill you…" She breathed. "But… that's rather impossible, isn't it?" A psychopathic, twisted grin crept onto her face and her inner lust for sadism leaked out.

Walking over she kicked the woman violently in the stomach. "Oy, stand up." She said.

The woman vomited out her dinner and choked even more. Half her face was soaked in vomit. "Elllp… e… (Help me…)"

Mizutsuki walked over and stomped her leg on the woman even more. "I said, stand up…!"

"Aeeh…" The woman looked up at her with pleading eyes. However, her eyes were scarlet with immense fear. Mizutsuki's heartbeat raced and an excited red hue rose to her face. Oh, that beautiful color…! The color was brighter than any other ruby gem in the world. The inner sadist inside her was breaking free of the chains. Up until now, she had been pressing down her bloodlust and killing aura. But now, after joining the Ryodan; she didn't bother hiding her killing aura anymore. But her bloodlust was still chained up. Now she set the feeling all free. "Eh… Ehehe…" She held up another knife. "Go die…" She smiled in a twisted way.

"Mizu!" Machi's appearance saved the woman of another thirty minutes of life. "What are you doing?"

Mizutsuki blinked.

Once,

Twice.

"Huh? What was I doing…?" She was lost. All she remembered was that she melted the woman's teeth. "Machi, do you know what happened?"

Machi rolled her eyes. "No, but I do know that your killing aura exploded for a second; almost knocked me out. But that was a good thing, these two targets are unconscious now." Her nen thread tied around the woman. "Can you wash the vomit off her please? I don't want to touch that."

"Oh, sure." Mizutsuki filled up a basin of water and dumped it over the unconscious woman. "Did I do it too over?" She asked worriedly (She was more worried that Feitan would be so pissed off he wouldn't lend her the book).

Machi shook her head. "Nah, if it was Feitan dealing with her, he's do it way worse…"

"Thank god."

Feitan had tied up the girl in the corner and was back to reading his book. "Even though you guys are allowed to take your time, that was too long." He snapped his book shut and said angrily.

"Whatever, they're all yours now, Feitan." Machi released the threads and the three new victims fell onto the ground.

"Hmph…" Feitan cracked his knuckles.

Watching Feitan torture his victims was ever more exciting than reading the Trevor Brown books. Mizutsuki realized as she watched in awe. Machi, on the other hand, seemed quite used to it and she showed little interest. The family members were set up facing each other. So when he tortured one of the children, the parent's eyes glowed even more.

"Don't hurt my child!" The father cried. The mother was still mute so she screamed silently. The son watched in terror as his sister was beheaded and screamed.

"Oy, Feitan." Mizutsuki said suddenly.

"What?" Feitan snapped.

"They can still lash out their anger through words this way, why don't I melt their throats well? That way they cannot call out the names of their loved ones as they die. I think that it would make an even more brilliant color of their eyes."

Feitan studied her curiously for a few seconds. "Sure."

Mizutsuki hopped off the windowsill and grabbed the throat of the father and the son. The mother screamed mutely and tried to grab her. Machi tugged on the nen thread and restrained her from doing so. The brightness of the scarlet flames was blinding.

With another squeeze she had completely melted the tissues of their throats. They could not make any noise apart from breathless coughs. They wouldn't be able to call out the names of their loved ones as they watch them die. Nor could they rush over and hug their cold, hard bodies…

"I'll fetch the spoons now." Mizutsuki volunteered. "We need to gouge out the eyeballs…" She raced downstairs to the kitchen. Carefully jumping over the puddle of vomit, she found the spoons sitting in a drawer next to the window. Faintly, she could see a dark black pillar of smoke rising in the night sky. "Who is that?" She wondered out loud. "Franklin? His ability is quite loud I heard. I don't think that you can add a silencer onto your nen bullets…"

She skipped upstairs and saw four heads lying on the ground. All their irises were a brilliant scarlet. "Do you have the containers? Machi." She asked as she knelt down and gouged out the eyes of the son. Blood spurted onto her cheeks and hoodie. "Tsk… I shouldn't wear white next time…"

Machi pulled out four small containers filled with formalin out of her backpack. "Yeah, be careful when you put them in. It's a small container…"

"So we can carry more, I know." Mizutsuki dropped the Scarlet Eyes into the formalin. Feitan picked up a spoon and a container. He gouged out the eyes of the mother, unaffected by the spurting blood – he was wearing black anyways.

"I think that I saw Franklin's ability on the other side of the village." Mizutsuki said quietly. "There was smoke."

"Hmph… we better hurry then. When we get back, they're going to comparehow many sets of eyes each group got." He shot a glance at Mizutsuki. "You drag your time again; I'll gouge out your eyes too."

"Hmph" Mizutsuki snorted. _That was not exactly a '_**death**_' threat. Well, that's an improvement…_

"You better get your acid ready and melt all the walls in the way. We're going for real. When we get back I'm getting Uvogin to treat me to lunch…"

Machi facepalmed. "Whatever, we have to go now." She stood up and jumped out of the window. "Let's go left." She said before falling down.

The two other members followed; Mizutsuki didn't forget to pack the eyeballs into her own backpack.

The night of the Kurta Massacre had just started.

* * *

**Alright, I'll be honest here. I just wanted to write the bloody scenes and the Trevor Brown book scene; I _am_ rather fascinated **** at what his art looks like ****myself. But I haven't got the chance to see one of his masterpieces; it was funny seeing Feitan reading it in the anime Lol. And from now until this arc ends, I'll be writing a bunch of torture and killing stuff (watch out for your parents while reading). This would be the bloodiest arc of all; and probably no plots except how to improve Feitan's bad relationship with Mizu. It'll probably be a short arc though, I'm not sure either.**

**I have watched a lot of twisted, bloody anime myself, and I'm pretty much enjoying it (No, I'm not twisted in real life). Like Yuno Gasai from Future Diary and Mikasa from Attack on Titan; I love it when those two go crazy (Really, Mikasa could be a Yandere if she wants). I kinda wanted to add the twisted qualities to this bloody arc. However, I will have to work on my adjectives then. So I rewatched Deadman Wonderland and Corpse Party for ideas of describing. (Once again, I'M NOT TWISTED.). But if I wanted an anime that could fulfill my needs for being twisted and bloody at the same time, it would probably be Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. ****(How come I'm sounding like a salesperson?)**

**Reply to reviews: **

**_Justin_: Thanks, I will keep on updating of course. Until my imagination juice runs out. *checks* It'll be a long time before it runs out.**

**_Elena_: Oh my... I'm so flattered (O口O). I'll update as soon as possible, you have my word.**

**review~review~review~~ o(OwO)o **


	32. Chapter 32

"An advanced version of _Melting Touch_." She explained quietly as she raised her hand to the wall. "_Meltdowner_.**_*_**" Almost immediately a giant hole was created in the wall and the hole kept on getting bigger. Until a full grown man could fit through.

The family inside the living room gawked at the three members of the Genei Ryodan that had taken down one side of their walls.

The daughter screamed and flew towards the hallway – presumably trying to get away. Within a blink of an eye Feitan was behind her and he pinned her arms behind her back.

Finally, the parents reacted and bothe the adult screamed, scrambling towards the other exit; a door behind them. Mizutsuki dropped four knives out of her sleeve and threw them; pinning the father to the wall in a ridiculous position. Machi tangled the mother in her nen threads; with a slight tug a slit was made on the woman's arm. "Move and die…" She breathed.

Mizutsuki walked over to the father that was pinned to the wall. "Hmm… what were you and the woman trying to do?" She asked in a mocking sweet tone. "Oh my, don't tell me, you were trying to abandon your daughter?" She kicked the man in the legs. Or course, with her superhuman strength, the bones of the man instantly snapped.

"Argh…!" The man gritted his teeth in pain. "_Who… are you people…?_"

"Villains that are no better than a piece of shit." Feitan replied; both the girls shot him a glance. The three members each dragged their own captives to the corner of the room; throwing them violently to the ground.

"A first-class villain doesn't target honest lives." The man spat, trying to continue on the debate.

"Oh my, are we actually _second class_?" Mizutsuki said in mock horror. "Shut up or I'll kill you."

"Huh?" Machi frowned. "Only the father has Scarlet Eyes…"

"The mother and daughter must not be purebloods." Feitan replied. "It doesn't matter…" His hands transformed into claws. "I'll start torturing the little one first…!"

The little girl let out a shrill scream and the father threw himself in front of the daughter. "Don't harm my little girl!" He cried.

"Huh? I thought that I snapped your leg already?" Mizutsuki stepped on the man's left leg; crossing her arms with a nonchalant expression.

"I'm pretty sure you did, I heard the snap." Machi stepped on the other leg; she crossed her arms with a nonchalant expression as well. That was called _teamwork_.

The mother wept. "No! Stop it! Please, I beg you!"

Feitan left Mizutsuki and Machi to deal with the wailing woman, he focused on the father trying to protect his daughter. Although in pain, his expression was determined. A sadistic smile crept onto Feitan's lips.

"What are you doing now?" He said. "Acting like a good dad? Didn't you just try to abandon your daughter? Why would you care for her now?"

The father bit his lips, his expression unwavering.

"Mizu." Machi forced the woman to sit upright.

"Got it." Mizutsuki grabbed the woman's throat. "_Melting Touch… 2%_." Two percent of the ability was all she needed to damage the tissues of the human throat.

"Misako!" The father cried at seeing his wife being tortured. His eyes glowed bright red. "Misako! Misako!"

"A…eh…" The wife choked for air. Once your throat tissues get burnt and damaged, every gulp of air would seem like burning acid sliding down your throat. Every word you try to sound out would be like needles stuck in the neck. It was a hundred times more painful than having a sore throat while you're sick.

"Misako! Don't go! Stay with me!" The man tried to drag himself to the woman.

Feitan frowned. "Why, that's weird. What about your daughter now?" He walked behind the little girl and placed a sword against her neck – _hold on, where did that sword come from? Oh, his umbrella. Wait, where did his umbrella come from then? _Mizutsuki's head was swimming in questions. But she threw them away and concentrated on torturing the woman now.

"Feitan's specialty." Machi whispered to her. "Mental Torture… he's great with Physical Torture, but it's not as fun as mental. He will torture his victim's conscious until he or she breakdowns into a pile of dead meat; _literally_."

"Sounds like something I never want to get involved in." Mizutsuki replied. "But it'll be fun to watch apparently."

Feitan had ignored the two girl's whispering. "So? Who do you want to save now? We'll let one of them go, just choose. Say, _"I want my daughter to live."_, we'll kill your wife. Say _"I want my wife to live."_, we'll kill your daughter." His dark eyes crinkled in sadistic amusement. But we will torture the one you didn't pick until they finally bit their tongue and suicide. Making pain last for days is my specialty…"

The man scowled. "You bastards… what's the meaning of this! Why do you have to kill my family? Do I know one of you?"

"I suggest that you don't ask too much." Machi said in a low, deadly tone. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee your wife's safety…" She tugged on the nen threads and one pinky was sliced off.

"AARRRREEEHHHHH….!" The woman cried. Tears slid down her cheeks like rain sliding down a glass window.

"YOU BASTARDS!"

"MOMMY!"

"Hurry up and choose…" Feitan breathed; his sword made a cut on the little girl's neck and she winced, trembling. "Daddy…!"

"If we continue on chattering like this, both your loved ones will die… Say, do you want at least one of them to live?" The father's Scarlet Eyes glowed with anger and resentment. "Oh, and I forgot to say, only one out of the three of you can live. If you choose one of them, they will live and you would die. If you choose neither, you will live and they will die."

"…" Now the man looked hesitant.

_What a typical scum… _Mizutsuki thought darkly. _Only caring about your own safety instead of your so-called __**loved **__**ones**__, eh?_

"If you wish to, we'll spare your life, Kurta; in exchange of your wife and daughter's lives. Hurry up and make a choice, quick… '_Kill them and spare me_', we'll spare you if you say that. Betray your loved ones. Let them see how much of a scum you are…..."

When he said this, his voice was no more than a whisper. But his thin, light voice was hypnotizing; the man started losing himself. He grabbed his hair in despair. "What… the heck…" He cried.

Mizutsuki almost wondered if Feitan was actually a Manipulator. The way he manipulated his victim's mind was terrifying yet amazing. This could only come from _skill_ and _experience_.

"Hurry up and make your choice!" Feitan breathed once again, it was creepy to his comrades at how he said it. But it was utter torture to his victim; it sounded like nails on blackboards and another thousand unpleasant sounds combined together. It hurted his ears to listen and brain to think. "Quick, say 'Kill them and save me', if you do I'll save you. You don't plan on dying here right? You're not too old yet, you can always find others…" Feitan's grin was sadistic as he continued trying to persuade the man to betray his family.

The pureblood Kurta man saw the faces of his family; it was pale, it could be paler then his. Well yeah; their lives are depending on him now. _But I don't want to die… _The man was petrified in his thoughts. After a few seconds Feitan nodded at the two girls. "Kill the woman. Make it as painful as possible."

"Ay, captain." Mizutsuki said sarcastically and saluted before gathering her aura onto her palm. "Sorry, but it's your own fault. You married a really bad husband…" She grabbed the woman's face and the woman started screaming. Due to the damage of her throat, she still couldn't form any actual words, but the scream was piercing enough. The muscle on her face melted and the foul smell of acid mixed with blood reeked into the air.

"AAAHHHHHHHHH…!" The woman screamed helplessly, throwing her head from side to side. But Mizutsuki's grasp was firm.

"MISAKO!"

The woman dropped dead. Mizutsuki removed her hand from her victim's face. The muscles were melted all the way to the bones. In some places, it melt through the bones and you could see the muscles on the other side.

"Oh dear mister, please don't be a hypocrite and lie to me. I hate lying people; you'll be happier too. You wanna live right? Say it, one simple sentence and we'll spare you… You're going to die very soon if you don't say something; hurry up and say it…" Feitan continued.

The man gulped. "Sa…Sav…"

"Daddy, no!" The daughter cried. "I don't want to die!"

The man's eyes were glowing a very agitated scarlet; he could not think properly anymore. "Save me…" He mumbled in the end.

"DADDY!" The girl wailed.

The man realized what he had done and he looked up. "Wait, I take that back, _no–!_" He watched in dread as his daughter's head was severed from her neck.

Feitan wiped the blood off his sword on the couch. "Don't worry, the next would be you." He said. "But I wonder… would they still want to meet you when you're in hell with them?" Before the man could say another word Feitan severed his head as well.

* * *

_Feitan Observation Diary, point seven: Never piss him off too severely, you'll die a painful death._

* * *

Machi tossed him a spoon. He gouged out the eyes of the Kurta man and placed it into the formalin jar; then tossed it to Mizutsuki.

At the same time, the front door opened and Shalnark walked in with Franklin and Phinks. "Oh my, you guys are already here?" He sighed.

"Hey Shal." The three of them nodded in greeting. "Phinks, Franklin."

Phinks observed the room and whistled. "Don't you think that you did it too over? Feitan."

"The one who melted the room was Mizutsuki, not me." He spat.

Mizutsuki nodded to herself. _He called me by the name, that's another improvement._

Shalnark clapped his hands. "You know what guys?" He exclaimed. "I think that we should start splitting up now. The clan elders have noticed us and some Kurtas may be evacuating already. Let's race!"

"Oy Shalnark." Franklin deadpanned. "Don't you remember what happened last time you suggested a race between the members?"

"What happened?"

"Feitan and Phinks met Mizutsuki and she stole our painting then we had to hunt her down."

Phinks nodded. "Yeah, that did happen."

Feitan facepalmed. "That was the most stupid idea ever…"

Mizutsuki's eye twitched. "There was such a history behind my joining and you guys didn't tell me about it?" She snapped.

"It didn't seem very important." Phinks shrugged.

Shalnark laughed it off. "Whatever; but it's not like one clan member would escape with all the eyes we've collected and we'll have to hunt him down right? We don't have any spare spots for more members either!"

"You have a point there…" Machi said quietly. "Sure, let's race."

"Seriously Machi?" Phinks whined. "I don't want to meet another Mizutsuki or Tsukimizu again…"

Mizutsuki threw her shoe at Phink's head, which hit him in the side. "Shut up, stupid pharaoh." She spat. "Fine, let's split up. Pharaoh, If I gather more eyes than you, we'll cancel the steak deal."

A vein bulged on Phink's forehead and he threw her shoe back; she caught it. "_Oh yeah…?_" He growled. "If I win, you'll treat me to steak _and_ beer. And while I drink you can only _watch_!"

"What? Do you think that I'd be afraid of you?" She turned to march out of the hole she had made in the wall. "I'll meet up with you guys back at the base." She said, fuming. "Bye."

Franklin nodded. "Oh well… let's all meet back at the base. I think that we'd wipe out all of them anyways. And we have a wider range to attack and aid."

"Okay."

"Sure."

Each of the members exited out of different spots. The hole in the wall, the actual front door, and the other back door leading to another place. As for Feitan, he decided to follow the Newbie, in case that she was going to play any tricks. He had to admit; she was acting pretty well in the mission up until now. And her ability was convenient. But he had not trusted her... yet.

* * *

At the other side of the village, Pairo was eating dinner with Kurapica's mother and father. He looked out of the window; his bad eyesight could not allow him to see much though. "I keep thinking that I heard something." He said.

"Really?" Frowned Kurapica's mother. "I didn't hear anything."

"Hmm… It must be an illusion then." Pairo turned back to his soup with a small smile. "I wonder what Kurapica is doing right now…"

* * *

**You know what? I've thought of a plot! *throws flowers and dances in happiness* A good plot if you ask me; that could fit into this arc, includes Pairo and Kurapica, and can improve her relationship with Feitan! Oh my I'm so smart~ (mom: Look at your report cards before you say that.) PS****: _Meltdowner_ is actually a move from another character Mugino Shizuri in the anime _A Certain Magical Index_ and _A Certain Scientific Railgun_. Sorry I can't resist, the name sounded _so_ cool...**

**Reply to reviews:**

**_Elena_: Why thank you!**

**_Ellixie_: Oh hell yeah fellow DW fan! *high five!*. THAT'S THE SAME WITH ME! And how Toto died was... was.. *sniffs nose*. I could have started to write a Toto X Yosuga fanfic but they're both dead! Waaaaa DX...**

**_Bbymojo_: Oh my, that's the greatest compliment an OC author could ever get, thank you! And if Mizu pairs up with Hisoka, hmm... BAM! Utter chaos probably...**

**_Guest_: Did this chapter disappoint you? No? Yeah! *high five***

**Stay tuned~**


	33. Chapter 33

"Thank you for being such a good friend of Kurapica." Said the woman, Kurapica's mother. "We're really grateful that Kurapica has such a good friend."

Pairo shook his head with a sincere smile. "No, it's nothing. I have to thank Kurapica for being my best friend too."

Kurapica's father nodded with a cross of his arms. "Kurapica is a nice child, although he is brash at times. You're always there to cool him down, Pairo. If you weren't with him perhaps he'd have gotten himself into fights."

Pairo blushed. "No, it's really nothing…" He scratched his chin sheepishly. "I wonder what Kurapica is doing now though… could he be sleeping?"

"Maybe he's on the other side of the world," Kurapica's mother joked. "I heard that day and night are different on each sides of the world."

"Really?" Pairo exclaimed with interest.

"Well that's what I heard." Laughed the blonde woman. "Hurry up and eat, the soup's getting cold."

"Okay!" Pairo was in a good mood. Kurapica's parents were kind to him, treating him like he was their second son. Kurapica was his best friend and his big brother. But he wasn't here at the moment; he was outside in the world, searching for a good eye doctor. _When my eyes get better, we'll travel the world together…_ Pairo repeated their promise in his heart.

A distant sound traveled into his ears and he looked up. "Are you sure that there isn't something out there?" He asked.

"Huh? No."

"Really? I keep hearing stuff… it's a lot noisier than normal nights…"

"It must be an illusion." Kurapica's father repeated. "Hurry up and eat Pairo, there's still dessert!"

"Okay…" Pairo still couldn't help feeling uneasy. It was intuition telling him that something was going to happen soon. "I think that I'll borrow the toilet for a second." He said and stood up. "Please excuse me for a sec."

"Sure." The two adults continued on eating.

Pairo walked to the washroom and realized that he didn't exactly want to pee either. So he turned back to walk back towards the dining room.

"Huh? Who are you? What are you _doin–!_" The scream of Kurapica's father rang through the house and Pairo stopped in his tracks.

"_Ahhh! No! Please! Don't hurt us!_" This time the scream was from Kurapica's mother. And she sounded like in immense pain. There was an violent ripping sound and the scream pierced his ears again. Then everything was silent.

Pairo was petrified. "What… was that…?" He mumbled out. He was too afraid to move.

"Huh?" A woman's voice was heard from the dining room. "Is someone there?" The woman called. Pairo didn't know what sound it was following behind the woman's call towards him, but he could imagine. It was the sound of a blade being pulled out of the human body.

The women's footsteps started closing in on him. He gasped in horror and looked around frantically for a hiding place. The woman was not a friendly being!

He scrambled into the broom closet and relaxed for a second. But he thought; if the woman opens the closet, he'd be doomed. It was fortunate that the broom closet was fairly empty and he climbed to the upper shelf. He squeezed himself to the very back of the top shelf and quivered. Who is that…? He thought desperately. Are Kurapica's parents all right?

The footsteps got closer and his heart beated faster. He silently pleaded that the intruder wouldn't hear his beating heart.

"Tsk… Is there really no one?" Mizutsuki questioned out loud as she patrolled the hall. Her gaze landed on the broom closet and one of her eyebrows raised.

SLAM! Pairo was facing the light bulb, and he saw the intruder. He didn't see her face, but her saw a clean, straight mop of dark brown hair; so dark to the point it could be easily mistaken for black.

"Tsk…" The woman frowned. "No one here…?"

She closed the closet door and turned the other way down the hall, searching if there was another being. Pairo let out a sigh of relief as soon as her footsteps disappeared.

_I must check on Kurapica's mother and father! _Pairo said to himself silently. Slowly he pushed open the closet door and climbed back down onto the ground. Silently he closed the door of the broom closet and tiptoed back to the dining room. What he saw there terrified him.

Blood.

Blood was everywhere. It stained the carpet and the wooden floor. It splattered onto the white walls, painting it a brilliant red. Kurapica's mother was injured severely with multiple knives embedded in her body. While Kurapica's father had a bloody gash slit across his forehead. "_Pairo… run…_" He gasped. There was a kitchen knife embedded in his stomach as well. Blood was pouring out.

"Oh my god…" Pairo was on the verge of tears. Despite the fact that he had bad eyesight, everything he was seeing now were crystal clear. He fell onto his knees. "What should I do?" He exclaimed.

"Shh!" Kurapica's father hissed. "You might alert her… run, call for help…"

"I can't leave you guys here!" Pairo cried, feeling really panicked. "Wait! I'll look for the first-aid kit, wait here please!" He stood up and fell down. After standing up again he scrambled to the exit. He poked his head out into the hall and saw the shadow of the women coming from the opposite side.

Pairo immediately stormed back in. "She's coming!" He cried. "What should I do?"

"H…hid…" The man coughed.

"_Hide_? _Where_?" Pairo looked around desperately for a place to hide. _Under the table_ – no. _Behind the counter_ – no. Under the sink – _maybe_.

He saw the possible hiding spot and scampered over. Just a second before he closed the small cupboard doors, the woman walked back in. He left a centimeter open to observe the woman.

"I was sure that I heard some noise…" The woman muttered. Pairo couldn't see her face due to her standing.

The woman knelt down with a smile. "Are there other people in the house?" She asked in a tone coated with sugar. Pairo gulped and squinted to get a better look.

The woman's long, brown hair reached her shoulders and she was wearing a white hoodie splattered with blood. Some were already turning brown – _she had already killed other people before coming here. _Pairo gulped. She was wearing short shorts exposing her thighs and leather sandals. Her legs and shorts were splattered with blood as well.

"C'mon, speak." She dropped a knife out of her sleeve and held it up to the chin of Kurapica's father. "I didn't hit you in the major organs; you wouldn't be dying any soon."

"…Go to hell…" The man spat and hugged his wife closer. Kurapica's mother was unconscious of her blood loss.

The woman narrowed her eyes and raised her knife. Without any signs of hesitation she stabbed it into the calf of Kurapica's mother. She woke up with a scream.

"Don't go to sleep just yet." She said icily. "I have a lot of things to do with you guys before I kill you. It wouldn't be fun if you're asleep…"

Pairo now saw the woman's face clearly. She had clean, sharp features but an unfriendly look in her eyes. But right now her face was splattered with drops of blood. Some of the drops were smeared away carelessly. Right now the expression settled on her face was made of pure sadism. Everything about her presence made Pairo wanted to run away and scream. It was cold and pressuring, like drowning in icy bleach. He felt suffocated and he wanted to cry. What was happening?

Mizutsuki let her killing aura pour out and she was drenched in excitement of her next kill. "Heh… never mind…" She said. "Even if there is someone else and he or she had ran away, my comrades would kill them sooner or later." Her lips stretched into a sadistic grin.

_Comrades…? _Pairo gulped. _There are others? Are they bandits? But I really can't imagine females to be part of a bandit caravan… _

Mizutsuki chewed the insides of her cheeks. _The man's eyes are red now, but not as bright as other ones… and the woman is just dimly red…_ "Hmm… Do you couple have anyone important to you?" She asked. "Perhaps, a child?"

"Like we'd ever tell you!" The woman cried.

Mizutsuki snorted. "Hmph… Are you guys afraid of dying?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes." She held up an acid-soaked hand. "But due to job consequences, I'll have to torture you before I kill you. Let's start with the woman then." She grabbed the collar of the woman and pulled her to her side. "Hmm, let's have a girl's talk together, shall we?" She smiled sweetly and grabbed her neck.

Within a second, Kurapica's mother started to cough out blood and choked for air. The tissues of her throat melted away and every gasp of air were painful. Pairo subconsciously clutched his neck himself and gulped; it was painful just to watch. Not to mention Kurapica's father's desperate cries made the situation ever scarier.

_I must escape and get help… _Pairo thought. But how? If I go out, she'd be sure to notice me! If I had some sort of weapon… he felt around under the cabinet for something that could act as an weapon.

"You bitch!" Kurapica's father cried. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he watched his wife being tortured. "We'll get you back! You will pay for what you have done! Just you wait and see!"

Mizutsuki laughed half-heartedly, feels came to her and she spoke. "There may be people out there who can truly imagine how the dead feel and shed tears based on it. There may be people who find something the dead left behind and would finish it in their place. There may be people who could save the dead that way; but that is not something people like me who killed others while soaked in evil can do. There is no point telling me that. I've been told that enough times to the point my ears stopped bleeding and got numb."

She then kicked the woman in in the stomach, breaking her ribs in the process. The woman coughed out blood and cried silently. "Up until now, I've killed countless people, and none of them were really guilty. In fact, over half of them were because that they pissed someone else off over some minor thing; and the others asked me to kill them because they _can_. I used to take cases from others, I ask for reasons but I never understand them. But why would I ask then? It's because that, I want to find out what kind of person I really am."

She held up the woman's hand and placed her thumb and forefinger onto one of her fingernails. "Now, after joining the _Genei Ryodan_, I finally know." With a small move of her fingers she peeled off the woman's nails. The woman screamed in agony, but was forced to stop due to her melted throat. The sadistic grin grew wider, stretching across her face. "_I'm a __**true villain**_."

Pairo was watching the whole scene with his heart beating rapidly. _Analyze the enemy Pairo!_ He scolded himself. _She said that she took killing cases from others __**before**__; meaning that she was once an assassin. But now that she had joined the 'Genei Ryodan'. What is that anyways? Is it like a group of assassins or…_ He looked up. _No, I'll have to gather more information before I make my move…_ His fingers closed around the weapon he had found.

The woman's eyes burned a beautiful Scarlet and Mizutsuki took a deep, shuddering breath. "What a beautiful color…" She breathed. "Makes me want to gouge out your eyes right now… But we can do better than that, right?" She peeled off two more fingernails and the woman fell over in pain. "Agh…Ack…" She choked.

The man was watching intensely, his legs were broken so he couldn't move. His head was turned away but his eyes burned a brilliant scarlet, even brighter than his wife's.

_Gouge out eyes… _Pairo thought._ She is here to… collect our eyes? The Scarlet Eyes? _He finally pieced it together._ She was once an assassin, but later she joined a group called Genei Ryodan and the group has commanded her and her comrades to collect the Scarlet Eyes!_ Pairo gritted his teeth. N_o one should kill us and take away our eyes… __**No one**__._

_But what can I do? She's an adult and a pro assassin! I'm just a weak child! Pairo bit his lips. It would be better if I can get help, but she said that she had comrades out there… it wouldn't be safe either to go outside. But the main problem is how to take down this woman first. _He squeezed his eyes shut as Mizutsuki performed another torture scheme. Tears overwhelmed his eyes but he held his breath to not make any noises. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you, uncle and auntie… But I will avenge you! That woman would get paid back now!

Pairo knew that he couldn't win against the enemy, but he had thought of a way that he wouldn't lose but nor would he win either. _If she could just get out of the room for a second…_

To his astonishment and luck, the woman did walk out of the room; presumably borrowing the washroom. He quickly climbed out of the cabinet and crawled over to Kurapica's parents. They died of the serious blood loss and torture of Mizutsuki. Their eyes were a brilliant scarlet. Pairo held Kurapica's mother's hand – all her nails had been torn off. "I'm sorry that I couldn't save you and your husband…" He whimpered, trying not to sniff. "But I will avenge you. I will not let her take your eyes…!"

He walked to the kitchen counter and screwed open the lid of the salad oil container. Then, he dumped the slippery liquid all over the floor. He held up a box of matches and gulped. He cannot save Kurapica's parents, because it's already too late. But the least he can do was to not let the woman take away their eyes.

He backed away into the corner to avoid from being burnt. "I'm sorry…" He wept and dropped the lighted match onto the ground.

The whole room bursted into flames and he watched the cackling fire swallow the corpses. "At least your eyes are safe now…" He mumbled. _I'm sorry Kurapica; I couldn't protect your parents…_

Mizutsuki returned from the washroom and gasped at the burning sight. "What the fuck is going on?" She screamed. She didn't notice Pairo standing in the corner. _No, the fire isn't important, the eyes! I must collect the eyes! _Mizutsuki stormed into the center of the flames that were waist high. She grabbed the woman's shoulders violently and slammed her body onto the wall; she pulled out a metal spoon to gouge out the corpse's eyes.

Pairo gasped; he didn't think that the woman would actually storm straight into the fire. Grabbing the axe he found he flung himself into the flames too. He raised his weapon and brought it slashing down on the woman's head.

Mizutsuki noticed his killing aura last second – she had been too distracted by the fire and retrieval of the eyes. She rolled aside and threw a knife at the boy who had attacked her. But then she paused; no knife was thrown out.

Then her gaze landed on the ground.

Her arm had been severed.

* * *

**I hope that this chapter wasn't too confusing, because I had troubles writing with their POVs as well. **

**_Yes Pairo_! You go! Woohoo! 1 point for Pairo and 0 for Mizu! **** Any bets on who is gonna win? ****So the next chapter would be Mizu's epic battle with Pairo; they're both at a serious disadvantage now and they have to be careful not to get burned alive!**

**Stay tuned~**

**ps: Sometimes I feel like that my little author notes ruin the mood.**

**pps: I answered the question from the second chapter in paragraph 5. The answer to "The one thing that bothers her the most" is that "She wonders what kind of person she really is". That is why she performed assassination so differently from others. She wanted to test her conscience. And now she got the answer; she is a true villain.**


	34. Chapter 34

Mizutsuki stared at the bloody arm lying on the ground in disbelief. _Hold on; is that… my arm…?_ She looked to the right where her right arm should be, but what she saw was an empty, bloody space. She looked down again at the bloody arm on the ground. It wasn't for a few minutes until she finally recovered from her shock and the pain hit.

"_Argh…_" She clutched her shoulder and pressed the fabric of her hoodie over the injury. _I can deal with the pain, but the blood loss would be a problem… I must stop the blood…_

The young boy before her was petrified. He was clutching his axe tightly, his expression pure horrification. He was trembling like mad; to the point that even Mizutsuki felt sorry for him. "What? Never killed someone before?" She snorted.

The boy gasped and backed away. "I'm… sorry…" He whimpered. He didn't seem to know what he was saying.

"Oy, oy, who was the one that tried to kill me just now?" Mizutsuki asked and took a step forward. "Who is the one holding a weapon now? _Huh_?"

The boy was still backing towards the door. "D-Don't hurt me…" He whimpered.

"DON'T YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE ASKING A LITTLE TOO MUCH?" Mizutsuki threw a knife with her left hand. The boy collapsed on the ground and dodged it. "G…Go away…"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're the first one in months that was actually able to _harm_ me. Don't tell me that you're cowering already!" She grabbed him by the collar and pinned him against the wall. "_Fight_. _Me_." Blood splattered onto the floor from her injury.

"No…No…" Pairo was terrified. He could see the dreadful difference between their skills in fighting. _It's impossible to win…_

"Don't cower away now!" Mizutsuki snapped. "Look at my arm, _who_ did this to it? Was it me? You? It's _you_. Now show me that damn courage you got when you cut my arm off! Fight me like a man!"

Pairo was suffocating, the smoke of the fire was rising and he was feeling dizzy. He coughed. "But… it's impossible!"

"_What's impossible?_" Mizutsuki hissed. "You've managed to harm me, that's already _beyond_ impossible. If you can work the miracle once, you can work it twice." She refused to believe that she would be harmed by such a fragile-looking child. This was a matter about pride; who cares if it's his just luck or not. If the Ryodan members knew that she got an arm cut off by a little boy, they'd laugh their heads off. This brat better display some sort of specialness or unique skill, otherwise she'll have problems raising her head for the rest of her life. She could not be harmed by a _normal_ child.

"You're way stronger than me! You're a skilled killer!" Pairo exclaimed. "We're both gonna die anyways, what's the point?"

"_Ah_? What do you mean by that _we're both gonna die_? Do you think that I'd be killed by some puny fire? Hold your breath, brat." She said._ All I have to do is alter the pH of the air and cut out the supply of oxygen for the fire…_

"Huh?"

"_Hold your breath_, are you retarded or what?" She hissed, working her ability.

Seeing that Pairo did not understand her simple order, she covered his mouth and nose up. She still had him pinned against the wall by her body.

The boy was so tiny; if they weren't in such a situation she would have treated him to ice cream.

To Pairo's horror, disbelief, shock, and amazement, the fire he had created died down and disappeared. He didn't know what kind of magic Mizutsuki had used, but there was one thing he was as sure as ever – _there was no way he could beat her. _

Yet he had to fight_._

Mizutsuki let go of him and retrieved her severed arm from the floor. Thankfully, the arm and the corpses hadn't been damaged much by the fire. She held it under her left arm and turned to stare at the boy. "C'mon, go at me." She said. "Aren't they your precious family? If you don't do a thing, I'm going to gouge out their eyes. You don't stand a chance to win unless you fight."

"No… I _will_ fight." Pairo stood up shakily, holding his axe. He forced himself to stand up. "You're having a major blood loss…" He said quietly. "And you were right in the smoke of the fire… You must be feeling dizzy now…"

Mizutsuki managed a grim smile. "Yes, I am, in fact… I can barely make out your face now." Her vision was blurry and the whole world seemed to be doing ballet. The gravity was doing drugs and high.

"Why though…?" He asked. "Why don't you just kill me? I know that you can! _Why not?_"

Mizutsuki held up two fingers. "Two reasons. I need to provoke you so your eyes would become red; and I don't like people to gossip that I was injured by a weak little brat."

"That's a stupid reason though!" Pairo cried. "Just because you wanted my eyes, you protected me from the fire despite your injury which I caused? It's irrational! It's stupid! Your life should be more important than our eyes!" Pairo was speechless at the woman before him. She was strong and a true villain, but her actions were irrational and hard to understand. "That's just… _wrong_!"

Mizutsuki snorted. She liked the brat; it was rather a pity she had to kill him. "I may be a criminal lunatic, I may be a psychopathic mass murderer, I may be a total villain bitch; but that doesn't mean anything, right? I can still talk the way I like, I can still dress the way I like; but there's one thing I value more than my villain standards – anything _Danchou wants, I want_. If I want something, I'll have it no matter what costs."

"You're insane…" Pairo mumbled. "Just because of this, you're ready to sacrifice your arm?"

"If I'm insane, there would be no needs to question my reasons and motives." She raised a finger. "C'mon now, are you gonna fight or what? Or are you trying to drag the time until I finally lose enough blood?" _If so, the tactic is working…_

Pairo bit his lips. "You're really weak now…" He said. "It wouldn't be a fair fight. Even though you're strong, you're still human! Losing that much blood… you're nothing now!" Pairo was trying to act strong. But he was very shaken by how weird this woman was. "You don't have enough strength anymore! You couldn't even see clearly now, right?"

"Hey there brat, listen." Mizutsuki dropped a few more knives out of her left sleeve; her killing aura reeked out. "A distracted _me_ lost to a good-conditioned _you_. But now it's different; who will win? A half-dead _me_, or a terribly distracted _you_? _Hah_? Just because I've gotten weaker, it doesn't mean that you got stronger, right? _RIGHT_?" She threw her knives at Pairo. The killing aura exploded and Pairo was thrown back by the shock.

Pairo gasped and rolled away from the knives that came his way. He climbed over the couch and ran straight towards the hallway. He dashed upstairs in search of a hiding place; even the outside wasn't safe anymore, because she had comrades out there. He could only hope that she'd give up on killing him.

"Come on little boy!" Mizutsuki sang in a lunatic fashion. "Hurry and open the door, I've come, even if you try to hide, it's no use! Hurry and open the door, it's already too late to run!"

_Who would just because you said so? _Pairo thought to himself as he hid inside Kurapica's old room. He had a chair beside the window; unless you look very closely, it's almost impossible to notice that the chair actually has a small storage space inside. He remembered that when he and Kurapica played hide and seek, Kurapica hid there once.

That was the only time he didn't find him.

_My arm, my blood, godammit… I should just use _Pulmonary; Meltdown_ and finish him on one go. But why? Why am I feeling so excited of this fight?_

She decided.

_I'll kill you alright, but with my own hands! Not some crappy nen technique! It's nice to feel how ancient assassins killed too sometimes…_

"Where are you? Little boy?" She called again. "I'm gonna gouge out your parent's eyes~"

Pairo's eyes flashed scarlet while he hid in the box. _No… she's just trying to provoke me. If she wanted to, she could kill me as easily as squishing an ant! It's only because that she's suffering a major injury now she couldn't find me right away…_

"_Ahhh! No! Please! Don't hurt us!_" She imitated Kurapica's mother's desperate and terrified tone. She said this just before she stabbed her multiple times with her knives.

Pairo's eyes glowed brighter. "That woman…!" He forced himself to be quiet. Gritting his teeth until blood trickled down his lips. _I can't be tricked by her…! Stay calm, Pairo, stay calm…!_

Mizutsuki entered the room where Pairo was hidden in. As unfocused as she is, she could already sense where the little boy was due to her killer instincts. She glanced around the room and noticed a photograph of two boys; one blond and one brunette. The brunette was the little boy she just saw and he was labeled 'Pairo'. The blonde boy was 'Kurapica'.

_His name is Pairo huh? Who is the other child then? I don't recall seeing him anywhere… Hold on, this blonde child looks more like those two adults I just killed downstairs… Oh, I see… this 'Pairo' is just a family friend. But if so, where is this 'Kurapica' than…?_

No, those doesn't matter just now. I have to kill Pairo.

She took a deep breath and walked straight up to Pairo's hiding place. She dropped her severed arm onto the ground and placed her hand onto the seat. "_Come out, Pairo…_" She said in a motherly whisper. "_It's time to eat…_"

Pairo felt a shiver down his spine. Her tone was motherly, but freakishly creepy under the situation.

She opened the wooden chair and found the trembling boy inside. He stared up at her with frightened eyes. Mizutsuki smiled. "Don't be scared, Pairo… I won't hurt you…"

She pulled him out of the hiding place and sat down, setting the tiny boy onto her lap and hugged him; patting his back. "I won't hurt you, Pairo…" She whispered. "You're such a cute child… How could I ever harm you…?"

Pairo gulped. It was creepy; sitting on the woman's legs and being hugged by one arm. He let out a gasp of horror when he saw the severed arm lying on the ground. "Eek!"

Mizutsuki patted his back. "Shh… don't worry… it's all just an illusion, a bad dream… Now tell me Pairo, who is Kurapica? And where is he…?" Her tone was hypnotizing.

Of course it was; this was one of the manipulator abilities she had achieved by limiting her ability to a ridiculous level. Although it was very weak, it shouldn't be too hard considering her victim was a child. And she was a woman anyways; it made things easier. Pairo almost fell into sleep, but as soon as she said those words, he snapped back to reality. "I'll never tell you!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, is that so?" Mizutsuki's expression darkened. "Well then, although it's sad, you'll have to say goodbye…" She stabbed her knife into Pairo's back and pierced through his heart. Pairo died a quick and easy death; but the color of his eyes was the most magnificent out of all the eyes the Ryodan members collected. She paid for those eyes with one arm, it better be beautiful.

Pairo's corpse slumped onto the ground and Mizutsuki sighed, leaning back in the chair. She looked up at the ancient ceiling. _"I'll never tell you…"_ She thought of Pairo's words. _These words mean that either this 'Kurapica' is hiding, or he isn't inside this Kurta area at all. Should I tell the others that there may be one Kurta alive…?_

_Nah… _

A small smile settled on her lips.

_It'll be fun if someone comes to revenge; I always liked revengers with their idiotic impulse of killing me… Maybe the Ryodan would like it too._

"But the problem now is to stop the blood." She looked at her missing right arm, pouting slightly. "Isn't there anything like bandages…? There should be a first-aid kit in the kitchen, correct?"

Grabbing her arm from the floor she walked back down to the kitchen where the two corpses lied. Their eyes had already been gouged out.

_Did another member come?_ She frowned. _But it doesn't matter; as long as we collected the eyes. It was nice of them not to disturb me and the brat. _After a few minutes of digging through the drawers, she found the first-aid kit; thankfully, there were bandages inside.

"If it were normal humans, they would have died of the blood loss already. But sadly, I'm a Meteor City resident; I'm not exactly a 'normal human'."

She pulled off her hoodie and sat down on the living room sofa, taking her time to bandage herself. "Damn, this is one serious injury." She muttered. "I heard that Machi can sew back broken limbs; I hope that it's not just a rumor…"

"She can." A cold voice answered.

Mizutsuki jumped and looked back. Feitan was standing there calmly and holding three sets of Scarlet Eyes. "You know, I've always suspected it, but now I'm sure…"

Mizutsuki gulped. "_What_?" She asked cautiously.

Feitan tucked the three sets of eyes into his pocket. After pausing for a (dramatic) second, he spoke. "You're an A cup, right?"

…

_Silence._

…

Mizutsuki grabbed the closest thing to her – **which happened to be a cushion** – and threw it at Feitan's head. He dodged it easily. "Seeing your reaction, my theory had been proved. You're an A cup."

"I'm a **B**!" She screamed.

Feitan looked rather surprised. "Whatever, still flat enough. I didn't know that Phinks liked flat-chested girls."

A vein bulged on Mizutsuki's cheek. "You know… right now I'm feeling more pissed than when the brat severed my arm_…_What is it about Phinks anyways?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Feitan said nonchalantly. "Back when we first met, you wore a trench coat and passed us on the way right? He complimented your figure."

Mizutsuki stared at him. "You gotta be fucking kidding me…" She facepalmed. "That stupid pharaoh…! I'm canceling the steak deal."

"No I'm not kidding." Feitan walked over and flopped down on the other side of the couch. "The brat's eyes were quite nice, how did you provoke him?"

"Dude, I paid an arm for those eyes. They better be beautiful."

"Hmph, but from what I observed, you're still too naïve in battle. Sure, you're a decent fighter, and you have a good arm-wrestling rank in the Ryodan. And you're not too slow either; but your fighting style is too naïve. You get carried away too much and you lose focus of the things around you."

"What are you going to say now Feitan?" She said as she pulled over her hoodie again. "Gonna make fun of me?"

"No. In fact, I can't take it watching you fight so naively."

Mizutsuki stared at him with sharp eyes, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Sadly, she couldn't. Feitan was the unpredictable type of person.

"I'm gonna train you on your fighting skills. You better grit your teeth hard enough, because I will _not_ go easy on you."

* * *

**Sorry, school started and I couldn't update as often. But yeah, the Kurta massacre arc is gonna finish in s few chapters. There are a few omakes that's going to be included at the end (Those omakes are going to be IMPORTANT for the future chapters).**

**EEK SO MANY REVIEWS I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN ANSWER ALL OF THEM OR NOT!**

**_Elena_: You got it right! She's embarrassed (heh, Tsundere-chan). But I'm sorry that I wouldn't be able to update as often, though 2-3 chapters a week shouldn't be a problem.**

**_BepoBepo_: Cold shivers? Goosebumps? Here, have a blanket *gives blanket***

**_Aiko_: Well, I wonder will Togashi ever go back to manga business... he's probably enjoying video games even as you're reading this.**

**_Guest_: What will happen to the Ryodan if Machi isn't there? Hmm, broken limbs everywhere probably. And having goosebumps from reading my story is good news (for me), yeaaaaaa!**

**_Colorless Butterfly_: I just wanted to write the bloody stuff... not my business *puts on mask*. And yes, fellow Higurashi fan, let us hug and praise the magnificent anime _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_...**

**_Akilei_: Baby face... it's deceiving EVERYONE**

**_Guest_: What can I say? They're best friends XD!**

**_Uber Tofu_ (lol your name!): Thank you! *bows***

**_Bbymojo_: Eek, I don't think that Mizu would steal Machi's *cough* _boyfriend_ *cough*.**

**_Ellixie_: Well, I did write some DW fanfics myself, you can check them out if you want (But don't expect them to be any good... - 3 -)**

**Did I answer all of them? Hope I did.**

**Stay tuned~**


	35. Chapter 35

**WARNING: Specific character(s) would be OOC in this chapter(s) (But it's for the plot of the future plot!)**

* * *

"…So, Mizu's arm got severed during the mission." Danchou concluded. "In the end, she got the least eyes, but one particular set of eyes she got was the most magnificent out of all the eyes…"

Mizutsuki gulped. "Am I gonna get punished or something?" She asked cautiously.

Chrollo shook his head. "Nah, you're not used to this kind of work. You'll get better with practice. Feitan said that he's gonna coach you."

She glanced at Feitan. His killing aura was pouring out. "Danchou, I think that I might die during the training. Should I write a will or something?"

Chrollo looked at Feitan; he erased his killing aura instantly. "Feitan, would you kill Mizu during your training?"

"Nope."

Chrollo looked back at her. "Don't worry Mizu, Feitan wouldn't kill you."

A dead black cloud covered her face. "_Uh-huh_…"

Chrollo then took a deep breath. "Nevertheless, our work here is finished. Well done everyone." The Ryodan members exchanged a pleased glance. "Shalnark, Franklin, Coltopi. The three of you will take care of selling the items as usual. The rest of the members are free now. I'll contact you guys when we find the next target."

Feitan shot a glance at Mizutsuki. "Let's go."

She could almost hear the sound effects of a whip and screaming behind him.

Machi stepped up. "No, not yet." She held up a hand. The Ryodan's attention turned to her. "Mizu's arm still needs care. And as you've said, you wouldn't go easy on her during training right? Nen threads aren't as strong as you think. You'll rip her arm off."

A drop of cold sweat slid down Mizutsuki's cheek. "Yeah… that seems likely."

"_So_?" Feitan hissed. "You can just sew it back."

"For it to be ripped off again?" Machi crossed her arms. "No, I'm not doing that troublesome work."

"How come I'm being talked about as an object?" Mizutsuki questioned. Everyone ignored her.

"Anyways, Mizu is staying with me until most of her muscle tissues heal. Besides, we had a deal already. We're gonna hang out after the mission together. Right Paku?"

Pakunoda nodded. "Yeah."

A vein bulged on Feitan's forehead. "Why should I care for your stupid deal or not?" He spat. "Besides, how old are you three? Hanging out is for young brats! It's a waste of time."

"There, there," Shalnark motioned for both of them to calm down. "Don't fight! If you have any arguments, throw a coin, right?"

"Tsk…" Machi pulled the Spider coin out of her pocket and flipped it into the air. "Heads or tails?" She said.

Feitan narrowed his eyes. "…Tails."

Slowly and dramatically, Machi removed her hand from the coin. "Heads." She announced. "I win. Mizu is with me."

Feitan looked about to explode. "Hmph… Fine. I'll stick around for a week."

Shalnark nodded. "Thank god we solved this, I'd like some help in selling those eyes too. Feitan, you'd know some good routes right?"

"Yeah, I know some…" Feitan nodded.

Machi turned to Mizutsuki and Pakunoda. "Well then, now that we've got time, let's go hang now. Although we're quite inland, there's a big city to the South-West of us. It'll take only a few hours to run there."

Mizutsuki nodded slowly. Never once in her life had she hung out with friends before. Even back in her trainee days.; they had a strict timetable and rarely left the dormitories. She looked down at the deep scars and stiches on her left arm. _I'll have to hide the wound somehow… _She thought. "Hold on, Machi, I'm covered in blood from head to toe. Let me change."

"Sure. You brought clothes to change?"

"Yeah." She reached into her backpack and pushed aside her spare weapons. "I still have a spare t-shirt. I'll have to throw this hoodie away though, one sleeve is gone. And I'll have to wash the shorts. Pity, I liked this hoodie a lot."

"Just buy another one there, if you like white hoodies so much." Pakunoda said.

"Hmm, you're right." She then pulled out a roll of bandages from the side pocket of the backpack. Then she bandaged the wound with it. "There we go!" She said.

"I would recommend that you bandage your arm after you changed your shirt." Pakunoda pointed out calmly. "But oh well…"

Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "Yeah you have a point there… But it doesn't matter." She pulled the green T-shirt over her head and took off the hoodie from the inside. This was a convenient trick for girls when changing.

"Danchou, we might be back late." Machi nodded. "Is that fine?"

Chrollo shrugged. "As I've said, you're all free now. There's no place for me to say if you're going to be late or not."

"Okay, Let's go; Paku, Mizu."

Just as she was going to walk out of the door, Mizutsuki stopped and looked back. "Oy, Feitan!" She called.

Feitan glanced at her. "What?"

"When we come back, can you lend me that book of yours? You know, _Trevor Brown_?" Her heart was pounding, but she was literally _dying_ to read that book.

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "…Sure."

Hearing that he was willing to lend the book to her, a big sunny smile settled on her face. "_Thanks_!" She cried. That was about the best news she had heard in months. After she finished flashing the members a blinding smile, she followed Machi and Pakunoda out of the door.

After the three of them left, Nobunaga was the first to snap back to reality. "I think that it is the first time I've seen her not wearing a scary expression."

Uvogin nodded. "Ditto. Oy Fei, what kind of book was she interested in?" Everyone in the Ryodan had seen Feitan read that book before, but not much bothered to ask what was in it. (Considering Feitan's personality, the contents are _not_ things similar to _My Little Pony_ or _Dora the Explorer._) But now Mizutsuki brought it up, they were all interested in the contents.

Feitan pulled the book out of his cloak and flipped to a random page. The picture was enough to put the Ryodan members off their dinners. Shalnark sighed. "She's not only Tsundere, but she has a weird taste in books as well. Seriously, what kind of healthy-minded teenage girls read these?"

"Oh really? I think that she actually has a good taste in books." Feitan said.

"Before that, are we even sure if she is healthy-minded or not?"

"Hmm…"

* * *

"Where would you guys wanna go?" Mizutsuki asked as the patrolled the streets of the big city. The trip from the Near-Kurta-Area-Town to this magnificent city took shorter time than they thought.

"Well, shopping is something on the list." Pakunoda nodded to herself.

"Shopping… like, for what?"

"Any random stuff." Machi yawned. "Like, you wanted a new hoodie, right? I need new shorts."

Mizutsuki nodded. "Oooh… I see. But I never took the two of you for the shopping kind of girls."

"What kind of people did you think we were?" Machi's face twitched. "Did you think that we steal everything? Including clothes and underwear?"

She shook her head furiously. "_No-no-no_! Of course not! Well… not the underwear part. But this is a great contradiction to the Ryodan's image. I thought that the Ryodan steal everything they needed."

Machi sighed and Pakunoda crossed her arms. "Well, if you have to say, that kind of member would be Uvogin. Girls are more troublesome than guys, I'm sure you understand what I'm saying."

"Ahh… that's awkward."

Machi cracked her neck. "Besides, even when we're all scattered around the world, there would be no warning when our signal to gather would come. It's rare that we'd have this 'confirmed' free time."

"Ehh, how much money do you guys have?"

"More than what we'd probably need." They answered in unison.

It was Mizutsuki's turn to facepalm. "Oh dear… I have just barely enough. Perhaps I'll have to steal some money…"

Machi slapped her back. "Don't worry." She said. "Besides, I've thought of something fun to do besides from shopping…" Her arm was swung over Mizutsuki's shoulder, and a sly grin was settled on her lips. Her whole existence screamed _DANGER_.

* * *

"Exactly _what_ am I here for?" Mizutsuki said with a dead black cloud hanging over her face. Beside her legs were two white shopping bags containing a new white hoodie and a navy-blue/white jersey jacket – _god bless the End-of-Season sales!_ Currently she was standing in a skirt & dress store in the mall trying on a fucking baby-blue dress. "To be your toy?"

Yes, she was wearing a dress. Using sweet words coated with magic, Machi had somehow lured her into this shop with baby-pink wallpapers and started playing dress-up. Of course, she had refused once Machi held up the first humiliating outfit. But she had failed to win the debate; Machi was just too powerful.

"_Why not? You have nothing to do right?"_

"_But that doesn't mean that I have to try on these… __**things**__…!"_

"_Mizu, are you seriously refusing to obey a sempai in the Ryodan? I will not sew your arm back if Feitan rips it off."_

And that's how she lost the debate. If she had a handkerchief with her she would have gone to her emo corner and starting chewing it, pounding the walls. If she had Feitan's book to read maybe she would have gotten away from this torture. She would have had an excuse.

"Yes, and Mizu, you don't look bad in skirts." Machi mused as she stepped away. From her pocket she pulled out a phone and took a picture.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE DID YOU JUST TAKE A PICTURE OF ME IN THIS CLOWN SUIT?" Mizutsuki roared.

Machi laughed dryly. "C'mon, cheers to future blackmail."

"FUCK THAT SHIT YOU TRY ON ONE TOO." Mizutsuki immediately turned to grab a random dress from the C-shelf. "Wear this or I'll melt off your arm and you'll have to sew your own arm back…"

Machi narrowed her eyes. "Are you really threatening me? Sure, I'll wear one." She snatched the red plaid skirt from her and marched into the changing room.

"I'll find an even more humiliating dress for you to wear before you come out…" Mizutsuki breathed and jumped into the clothes pile. She was looking for either a very ridiculous gothic Lolita one or a way too sexy one. The skirt she found didn't disappoint her; it was hot pink and extremely revealing. "Machi! Try this on!" She threw the shirt over the changing room door.

There was a pause before Machi threw it back over. "_Idiot_!" She snapped. "Like hell I'd wear _that_!"

"Ha-ha." Mizutsuki snorted. "How about that red plaid one I just tossed you?"

"I'm changing out of it right now."

Within a second Mizutsuki had melted the lock and threw the door open. "Not before I take a picture." She sang; her phone camera made a very satisfying snapping sound.

Machi kicked her in the stomach. "Get out!" She screamed.

Mizutsuki landed on her bottom. "I'll hold the door for you, so hurry up and change into this one!" She tossed the revealing gown over the door again. "C'mon Machi, I don't wanna melt the locks of all the other changing rooms…"

"…"

Mizutsuki stood in front of the changing room door with a small, pleasant smile. The employees didn't bother to ask what in the world they were doing, which was just fine. She had to admit; this was a time where she can forget that she was actually an A-rank criminal. This was a time when she can act as who she is; which, in this case, a normal teenage girl. She was nineteen.

Apparently Machi somehow had the same thoughts. "Oy Mizu," She said. "Perhaps we should try on normal outfits instead of these ridiculous ones."

"Hmm… you're right. So how was the hot pink one?"

"Look, I dare you." Her tone was coated in evil, but Mizutsuki took it as an invitation. She let the door swing open freely and Machi hit her in the head with a hand chop. But Mizutsuki didn't let the chance of taking a photo slip away.

"Ahahaha… ow…" She rubbed her head. "Whatever, let's change to another room. Hope that they wouldn't find out that I destroyed the lock."

"Don't say it so loud if you don't want that to happen." Machi replied. "Shut the door, I'm changing."

Mizutsuki shut the door with a small smile._ Today would be a long day_, she thought. Although she lived in an inhuman world and so did Machi, this was one of the few times where they could understand how it feels to be _normal_.

* * *

**Sorry for a crappy chapter after such a long wait. I'll have to reconsider about the 2~3 chapters a week deal... School is harsher than I thought. And yes, I know that Machi is kinda/very OOC; but please, bear with it for a sec. THIS IS FOR THE FUTURE PLOT.**

**This completely pointless-looking-shopping-trip-original-idea is going to become part of a plot? YES. IT. WILL. But I'm not telling you what plot it is. But it'll be a long time before I write the plot. Hmm..**

**Anyways, just think of it as an omake with plots, alright? Thanks.**

**Stay-tuned~**

**PS: My school schedule is seriously screwed up, so weird and twisted to the point that it makes Yuno Gasai/Sonozaki Shion/ Genkaku Azuma/ Light Yagami/ Orochimaru look _SANE_. If my examples make any sense. I'll have to sort that out too before I could focus on the next chapter.**


	36. Chapter 36

_Two year time-skip_

_(Because I'm a crappy author, I'm going to skip to the next arc and leave the skipped parts for readers to imagine. Don't throw those tomatoes, **please**.)_

* * *

"Cheers!" The members cried and clinked their glasses together. The other customers of the restaurants shot them weird glances. It wasn't odd for them to do so; thirteen weird-looking people celebrating with beer.

_Beer_; that was the main problem now.

Although they were here to celebrate their major success at stealing their newest target, Mizutsuki was forbidden to drink. Even after two and a half years, she was still holding the label of **Worst Drinker**. Hell, she could have set a new world record for bad drinkers. Even at such a big celebration party, she was appointed the designated driver.

"I AM TWENTY-ONE." She hissed angrily. The glass in her hand threatened to shatter. "I can handle my own liquor."

"Doubted." Feitan waved his hand in the air carelessly. "I've known you nearly two or three years; saw you drunk several times during training, every time you drank there was chaos."

She slammed her fist onto the table. "_Feitan…!_"

"There, there," Shalnark laughed. "Mizu, don't be mad! You just have to practice drinking."

"Well you guys aren't letting me practice _at all_."

"That's because that we're in the public." Phinks replied. "We can't afford to let you go crazy."

Mizutsuki facepalmed. "Fucking godammit…!" She hissed.

Uvogin laughed and slapped her back (almost broke her spine). "Ahh, don't worry Mizu-chan! When we get back to the hideout we'll buy plenty of beer for you to drink!"

"That's a totally different thing we're talking about!" She threatened to turn over the table. "If so that would be a one-man party of drowning myself in alcohol! It wouldn't be about celebrating our success!"

"Mizu, just shut up and eat." Machi stuffed food into her mouth. "The more you think of it the sadder you'd get. Here, have some cabbage." Within a few seconds Machi had successfully placed all her assigned-to-eat cabbages onto Mizutsuki's plate.

"Gah!" Mizutsuki swallowed the food in her mouth and felt the pain as the unchewed blob went down her esophagus. She kicked Machi under the table. "Machi! Don't just give me things you don't like! Eat those cabbages godammit!"

"Meh!" Machi kicked her back. "Don't complain that you cannot drink then!"

"As I've said, these are completely different things we're talking about!"

"Agh! Can't you guys eat quietly?" Franklin finally snapped. "Machi, I didn't expect you to act so immature either. You eat those cabbages and Mizu you can't drink."

"That's still unfair!" Mizu protested. "Machi still gets to drink!"

"Mizutsuki, don't complain…" Pakunoda said quietly. Her queen-like aura was pressuring on her. Aren't they all members on the same level? Why is she feeling so weak?

"Tsk…" She bit her lip. _Fine_. "Uvo, you'll treat me to beer, right?"

Uvogin nodded. "Yeah, yeah. It'll be fun to watch you go crazy, it'd be the perfect dinner-show!"

A knife was thrown at him but Uvogin caught it between his fingers. "Heh, your knife-throwing skills have gotten better. I didn't even see you raise your arm. But still, out of all your abilities, I like the _Meltdowner_ best."

"Don't just try to change the subject…" A vein was bulging in her forehead. "Gosh…" She reached for a plate of almond junket. She dug her spoon into the food and took a huge bite. "Why am I in such a bad mood when we're celebrating such good news?"

Her mood was about to get worse.

Danchou's face was suddenly concealed by a dark cloud of depression. "Mizu… that almond junket was mine…"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Danchou." She shrugged. She had pretty much forgot the hierarchy rules of the Mafia and she was enjoying her time with the Genei Ryodan.

* * *

Far from the restaurant of where the Genei Ryodan was celebrating, on the other side of the town, was a poor slum.

"Mother, I'm hungry!" A child mumbled.

His mother brushed her bangs aside, she was still in her early twenties, but her dark hair was streaked with strands of grey. "I'm sorry, Kagami... But we're too poor."

Kagami pouted slightly. "I know..." He mumbled. "We are poor because we don't have money." The way he said the word money was filled with confusion, like he didn't know what money was. "And because we are poor, mother you don't have good clothes to wear..."

His mother's wary smile faltered. Her child was young, but he was smart, not to mention mature as well. She had him when she was fifteen; she was tricked by a man and then dumped. The man took all her fortune, what he left her with was this only child. "Kagami..." She tried to recover her smile. "It's okay; I don't need to wear pretty clothes. As long as you are healthy and alive, it's alright."

"But... I really want to see mother in pretty clothes for once... And I don't want my tummy to feel so empty anymore..."

His mother almost couldn't take it. Why did an innocent child like Kagami had to suffer such a horrible fate? If god wanted to punish someone, he should punish her and her only, not her child. "Kagami, come here."

Kagami trotted over. His mother wiped the dirt off his face. "Don't complain." She placed her hand onto his shoulders. "We have to be grateful that we still have clothes to wear and things to eat."

"But..."

"No buts." She put a finger to the child's lips. "Go wash your face, we're going into town."

Instantly the boy's expression brightened up. "Yay!" He exclaimed and dashed back into the house.

Hannah was the name of Kagami's mother. After she saw that her child had left the room, she let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "Why...?"

People turned their heads back as the two people of the slum wormed their way through the crowd of the market. Hannah was straining tears and she pressed her hands to her son's eat, to prevent him from hearing the foul words thrown at them. She had a fragile heart due to her unfortunate fate.

"_Eww, they stink!"_

"_They're from the slum right? Don't go near them..."_

"_Are you even sure you can afford to buy the vegetables here? Woman." _

"_Fuck off! Go away!" _Another sneered._ "We don't need people like you in our town."_

Every word that came out of the people's mouths were like a sharp blade cutting into Hannah's heart. "Please... Stop it..." She mumbled while biting back tears.

"Mother?" Kagami looked up. "Don't cry."

Hannah blinked. "Ehh? I wasn't."

"You looked like you were about to." Kagami replied. "Don't cry, mother. Don't you remember what you just told me? Be grateful that you are alive."

Hannah nodded slowly. "Oh..." Deep down, she knew it herself. That was just pretty talk to cheer them up. No one could ever be grateful enough of what they have.

Suddenly, three men approached them. "Yo." Their faces were written with bad thoughts. They were planning something dirty. Hannah immediately pushed her son behind her. She could sense that they were no good people.

"Hey missy, how're you doin'?" One snorted.

"Fine..." Hannah stuttered. "Just buying groceries..."

"Hey, are you even sure that you can afford things here?" The man in the middle snorted and grabbed at her wrist. "Why don't we talk somewhere else? With less people..."

Hannah was terrified, but she forced herself to stay calm. They were just normal people, who take advantage of others just because they think that they're more superior. For this instance, they are thinking that it would be fine even if they abused them. Since no one cared about people from the slum.

"No, please let go of me..." She said. "Or I'll call the cops..."

The third man kicked her lightly. "Oy, oy, who do you think you are? Do you honestly think that the police would help someone as filthy as you?"

Hannah felt a shiver down her spine. Kagami was clinging onto her worn-out, dirty skirt. "Mommy..."

"Run..." She whispered. "Kagami, run…"

Kagami looked up at her in horror; his innocent little face shocked. His jaw was hanging open. "Mommy...!"

"RUN!" Hannah screamed and threw herself at one of the man. She wanted to buy time for her son to run. "RUN!"

Kagami fell onto his bottom and stared. It wasn't until after a few seconds he finally snapped back to his senses. He turned and fled away, screaming and crying at the top of his lungs.

"Oy! Don't let the brat get away!" One man screamed. Another was about to chase down Kagami when Hannah tackled him. "You are not touching my son!"

"_Agghh_?" The man snarled and kicked her in the stomach. "What did you just say? Crazy bitch from the slum... People like you are only good for fuck!" With that he ripped off one edge of her skirt. Despite that this was happening under broad daylight, no one offered help for the poor woman. They simply ignored the scene and walked on.

This wasn't the first time Hannah felt dread to the world. She cried for help but still no one came to her rescue. Her son had run away due to her order, that was a good thing though.

After a good fifteen minutes of kicking and beating, she was left half dead on the road. She pitied herself for her unpleasant fate. Only if she was stronger...

"Huh? Mizu, what are you doing here?" A voice came.

Hannah opened her eyes and saw a man staring down at her, looking mildly amused. "I thought that you were the kind that wouldn't hesitate to kill even under broad daylight, or even when your warrant pictures are scattered everywhere."

"Huh...? Wha..." Hannah sat up and the sight entered her eyes. The three men that were abusing her just minutes ago were lying on the ground, unconscious. The crowd was whispering.

"Who is that? And why is he helping that woman from the slum?"

"I don't know, but he sure is good looking..."

"Hmm?" The man looked around. "Mizu, is the Genei Ryodan really so hard on you that you're living in a slum? Jeesh, do they give you salaries to be in there or...?"

Hannah was still staring at her savior. "Who are you?" She finally asked after swallowing.

The man laughed. "Oh my, Mizu, don't tell me that you've forgotten me already. After all the deals we've been through. Why aren't you using your Hunter License though? You could live in a place better than a slum with the money."

"I don't get what you're talking about..." Hannah mumbled. "I don't know who Mizu is and I don't have a Hunter license either."

The man frowned. "Hmm... This is weird. Are you playing stranger? Or are you suffering amnesia? Or perhaps that you damaged your brain somehow in a fight and the Ryodan kicked you out? Or are you actually hiding from someone? Poor you..."

"I really don't know who you are!" Hannah exclaimed. "I'm grateful that you saved me, but I don't understand a thing you're talking about."

The man sighed and held out his hand. "Can you walk? Let's talk somewhere else." His smile was warm and sincere, unlike the three men that were abusing her. "If you have to remember me again, I'll tell you my name. I'm Pariston Hill."

* * *

Kagami ran and ran, he didn't know for how long, he just ran.

_I must get help!_ He thought desperately. _Or else... Mommy would be in danger!_

"Somebody please help me!" He screamed to the crowd. "Someone... Please save my mom..." He was almost crying now, just by recalling the scene made him sick. _Those townspeople... _

"PLEASE HELP ME!" He screamed again. He couldn't take it anymore; this was too much for him to bear. He wanted to protect his mother, but he was too young and too weak.

The Genei Ryodan had finished their early dinner and were walking back to their hideout.

"Hey," Machi nudged Shalnark. "Something is going on over there."

Danchou seemed to have noticed as well, but his eyes were glued to Mizutsuki. The wrath of the stolen almond junket was burning. She could feel Danchou's hollow gaze on her back.

"Hmm?" Shalnark looked up from his phone. "Eh, seems like a child is screaming something and everyone is ignoring him."

"A child?" Feitan frowned. "It's just a brat, what is it to make a fuss about?"

"The kid looks like he's from the slum." Nobunaga whistled. "Damn, he's bone thin..."

"Advantage with heights..." Mizutsuki muttered; they were all over _180cm_. Coltopi and Feitan didn't reply.

"Lemme listen to what the brat is talking about." Uvogin volunteered. "Maybe there would be something fun."

"Don't..." Danchou said. "Maybe it's a child's prank. Better not waste time..." His wrath was still burning.

"Actually, I think that I wanna check it out." Mizutsuki said cautiously. She would do anything to get awa from Danchou's revenant-like behavior now. Quickly she slipped away without looking back. Danchou was acting like a ghost; _GIMME BACK MY ALMOND JUNKET. _Something like that.

"Wait, Mizu!" Machi exclaimed. "Tsk... Danchou?"

Chrollo sighed. "_Fine_... Machi, Feitan, follow Mizu, the rest can keep walking."

Without another word, Machi and Feitan sprinted after Mizutsuki, who was relieved to have Danchou's gaze off her back.

Kagami was still screaming. "Help us...!" He cried.

Mizutsuki pushed her way to the front of the crowd, Machi and Feitan had caught up with her. The three of them studied the child closely. The boy looked about five or six, due to his bone-thin body, it was hard to tell. He had messy black hair and brown eyes. But his skin color seemed rather pale under the dirt and filth.

"Please… someone help…" The kid whimpered once again.

"Oy brat." Mizutsuki called. "Isn't it about time you go home?"

A smile broke across Kagami's face as he finally heard a person respond to him, although not quite on the same topic. He blinked when he saw her face. There was silence between them as he stared at her for a few seconds. "Mother?" He said in a hollow tone.

_Silence_.

Thunder rumbled in the background as the single word stimulated their brains. Their jaws popped open. People could imagine how epic their face expressions were then. Even Feitan looked shocked. "WHAT did he just call you?" He hissed at Mizutsuki.

"I'm pretty sure he called her mommy." Machi answered instead. She turned to Mizutsuki. "Mizu, explain, what is this situation? Do you guys know each other?"

"I don't know." Mizutsuki cried. "I've never seen this brat before in my life! It's him who called me his mom, why don't you ask him?"

"Mommy?" Kagami looked nervous. "Who are they?"

Machi grabbed Mizutsuki's collar. "Mizu! Explain now! Whose child is this? Is his father one of the Ryodan?" Her expression was horrified at the end.

Feitan shook his hand. "Just to clarify your guess, Machi, this brat is not mine. I'm not interested in woman whose chests are flatter than an airport. And it is not Phinks' either I think. This brat has eyebrows."

Machi nodded slowly. "I see... Mizu! You still have to explain!" She grabbed her collar tighter.

"Gah! Really! I have no idea who this brat is!" She cried. "Machi you're choking me! And Feitan what did you mean about that my chest is flatter than an airport?"

Feitan shrugged. "Just what it means. Anyways..." In a split second he was standing behind Kagami and he pinned his arms back. Kagami gasped in horror. "We'll have to question this brat..." Feitan's tone was coated in pure, poisonous evil.

* * *

**Sorry, but I didn't have time to write in detail of how Mizu and Feitan's training went. Just imagine it like... dark and gloomy and stuff... No hate please! During the Kurta arc his hate had already turned into a grudging respect of her abilities; that's a start. And volunteering to train her is also an improvement in their relationship. In my mind the reason they came to like each other was because that they liked the same author_ Trevor Brown_. They are good reading buddies! I know that it's disappointing that Feitan didn't get more screen time in the story. I didn't want to waste time and drag on with the other secondary details. I wanted to move on with the big plot.**

**So yeah... don't throw those tomatoes... don't hate me, please...**

**I'll try to make this arc a good one, I swear that I'll make up for my crappiness.**


	37. Chapter 37

"Oy Feitan!" Mizutsuki hissed. "Don't just torture a kid in broad daylight. You'll get glances everywhere."

"Since when did you start caring for that?"

"Since now. C'mon, take this brat back to the hideout, we'll question him there…" With an annoyed glance at the kid she walked away. Machi followed after her and Feitan motioned for the kid to follow.

Kagami gulped. _What's going on? Why is mommy acting so weird? Who are these people? The woman with the pink hair and this short man…_

Machi stared at Mizutsuki. "Mizu, you're not lying right?" She asked. "That brat is not your child."

Mizutsuki felt like she could rip off her face to show how angry she was. "_Of course not!_" She hissed. "Does it look like I'm the kind to fall in love? _Me_? This psychopathic killer? You gotta be kidding."

"Yeah… you don't seem like that kind."

Kagami stared at Mizutsuki. "Mother, since when did you have those pretty clothes?"

The three Ryodan members glanced at him. Mizutsuki frowned. "What? This is just a normal jersey."

"No, but don't you always dress in rags?" Kagami continued.

"Oy brat." She glared. "I don't know you and I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I'm not your mommy, and if you don't wanna die, you better tell the truth right now. Is this some sort of prank?"

"No! I'm not lying!" Kagami cried. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"Tsk… this is why I hate kids…" Feitan's expression turned dangerously dark. "Shall I make him say the truth?"

"Feitan, stop it." Machi said. "He's just a kid; let Pakunoda do the job."

Feitan looked somewhat disappointed. "Tsk…"

Kagami was still confused. The woman in front of him was no doubt the same face with his mother Hannah, but the two other people called her _Mizu_. What was going on? He squinted to get a better look. Hold on…Wait, no… it wasn't his mother… the woman in front of him didn't have grey streaks in her hair. And she also had a colder expression; not to mention she somewhat taller. No… it wasn't his mother.

"You're not my mother!" He exclaimed. "Who are you?"

Mizutsuki facepalmed. "_Now_ you realize?"

"Kid, you're the one that talked mistook Mizu for your mom in the first place. And now you're asking her who she is?" Machi narrowed her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."

"T-This is kidnapping!" Kagami cried. "I'm sorry for getting the wrong person, now let me go!" He finally noticed the weird atmosphere surrounding the three Ryodan members.

Feitan tightened his grip on the boy's arm. "Brat, you're too loud." He hissed. "If you still want your arm intact, shut up."

Kagami gasped in horror. _No… No…No! I must run! My mother needs help! But just who are they though?_ _And why does that woman have the exact same face as mother…?_

"But now thinking of it…" Machi said quietly. "If it really is just a mistake, there shouldn't be a need for us to bring him back to the hideout."

"But Machi," Mizutsuki frowned. "This brat took a full fifteen minutes to realize that his mom and I are different people. Maybe his mom and I do look alike?"

"Perhaps he is just stupid?" Feitan raised an eyebrow. "Or he has bad eyesight?"

"No!" Kagami cried. "I'm not stupid and I have very good eyesight! Let me go!"

Mizutsuki dropped a knife out of her sleeve and pointed it at the child's nose. "Say another word without permission again, I'll kill you." They have already entered the country side where there was less people. "We're going to talk about adult business from now on."

Kagami gulped upon seeing the blade. _It's a real knife…_ It was ironic to see someone with the same face as his mother pointing a knife at him. It felt so wrong.

"And you're the one talking about no torturing in broad daylight…" Feitan scowled.

Mizutsuki snorted. "Fine, Fei, you can torture this brat all you like when we're done with him."

"Heh…"

Mizutsuki then turned to Machi. "Machi, what are your intuitions on this situation now? Would this brat be some sort of a threat to us?"

Even Feitan looked up from the kid. Kagami was confused at their behavior. Who was this woman named Machi? And what was it about the intuition of hers?

Machi chewed the inside of her cheeks. After a while she spoke. "Hmm… I think that this brat isn't really a threat himself. But he's hiding a major secret."

Immediately Feitan turned his attention back to Kagami and his grip tightened. "Brat, what are you hiding? Are you a scout from an enemy?"

_Kyaaaaaaa I don't even know what you're talking about! _Kagami screamed in his head._ Why would you rely on someone's intuition anyway?_

"Feitan, don't be ridiculous, what could a brat do?" Mizutsuki said.

"He could be infiltrating our hideout for all we know…" Feitan muttered. "Maybe there's a tracker on him or something."

"That's possible…" Machi admitted. "But whatever. It's not like it'd be a big deal if a whole army came."

Kagami's jaw dropped open. "What are you guys?" He exclaimed. "One of you has the same face as my mom; one of you is psychopathic and terribly short. And one of you has pink hair!"

Kagami could have died then and there; his murderer would be Feitan of course, for calling him short. But the two girls grabbed Feitan just in time before he sliced the brat's head off.

A certain kid didn't stop screaming. "And what the hell was that all about? You guys are kidnapping me just because I mistook one of you for my mom! And now you're suspecting me that I'm an infiltration spy? How is that possible? Those things only happen in stories, not real life! You guys are all crazy! Why would I lead an army to kill you guys?"

He finished screaming and bit back tears. He stared up at the three people bitterly; they stared back down at him.

Mizutsuki sighed. "Oh dear… we're never popular with kids aren't we?"

"What do you think we are? Caretakers?" Feitan hissed.

Machi walked over and tied up the child with her nen thread. "Kid, we are not normal people you see in your pathetic, everyday lives. We are the Phantom Troupe, a gang of thieves. We are an A-Class Bounties organization. We kill people, so don't step across the line alright? We're not in a good mood already…"

"Eek…" Kagami gulped. "You're kidding!" He said. "You're just trying to scare me! I know that all the townspeople hate us who are from the slum, but all they do is beat us up. They never have the guts to kill someone! So stop pretending!" He had mistaken them for the normal townspeople bullies.

Mizutsuki and Feitan exchanged a glance. Mizutsuki than sighed. "Jeesh… Fei?"

"Sure."

Kagami had no idea what went on during their telepathy, but Machi seemed to understand. "Go ahead Feitan." She said. In a split second the short man dressed in black was gone, and two minutes after he was back, holding a farmer in his late thirties. Somehow the man's mouth was stuffed up and he was looking bewildered to what's happening.

"This," Mizutsuki pointed to the farmer. "Is a living human, right?"

Kagami nodded mutely.

"And, we will kill him right before your eyes. And you can decide whether we're lying or not."

The child's eyes widened. "No way!" He cried.

"Yes way." Feitan breathed. In the next second the head of the man had fallen onto the ground. Kagami screamed. "NOOOOO!"

"Yes." Mizutsuki said and held up her hand. Feitan let go of the body and she melted the corpse. "We are not normal townspeople, brat." Her tone was low and dangerous. "Piss us off and you wouldn't be able to see the next sunrise."

Kagami was quiet after that. He believed them and everything they said. His heart was pounding in fear. In fear that he might be the one to die next, and the fear of whether his mother Hannah was okay. He looked up at the three Ryodan Members, who had started to walk again. He stared right at Mizutsuki. How come two people with the same face can act so differently?

"Machi, Feitan, Mizu, who is that kid?" Chrollo asked as the four walked back into the hideout.

"Long story short." Feitan deadpanned. "He thought that Mizu was his mom. Machi's intuition says that he's hiding something. So we brought him back."

_How could someone understand the whole story just by two sentences?_ Kagami thought. To his amaze, the Ryodan members understood immediately, their visions of the story clear as if they were there themselves.

"I see…" Chrollo nodded and turned to the child. "What's your name?"

"…Kagami…" The boy answered gruffly.

"How old are you?"

"Almost seven."

"So it means that you're still six… hmm, got it. Where do you live?"

"In the slum with my mother."

Machi jerked a thumb in the direction of Mizutsuki. "Apparently, his mom resembles her a lot." She said. "The kid took fifteen minutes to realize that he got the wrong person."

"Hmmm…" Shalnark looked interested. "I wonder, how much do they resemble?"

Kagami shot a glare at the baby-face. _I must escape somehow… I wonder is mother alright? Maybe she's at home waiting for me already? Oh dear…_

"We'll know soon enough." Chrollo said. "Paku, investigate. Don't leave out a single detail."

Pakunoda jumped down from her place in the building. "Okay." She walked over and knelt down in front of the boy. "Don't lie to me kid." She said softly as she placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Because I'll know if you do. Is it true that no one hired you to track us?"

"I've told you guys!" Kagami cried. "I only mistook her for my mother!" He pointed at Mizutsuki. "You guys were the ones that elaborated on the story!"

Pakunoda nodded. "Hmm, interesting. So how was your day?"

"I went out to buy groceries with my mother," He muttered. "When we were suddenly surrounded by three townspeople who hate the slum. Mother told me to run away and so I did. She might have been beaten up pretty bad…" At this point he blinked back tears. "I hope that she is alright."

"How did you realize that Mizutsuki is not your mother?"

"It took me a few minutes to realize, but they're completely different!" Kagami cried. "My mother isn't as coldblooded and psychopathic as she is. She is a kindhearted woman who deserves a better life than this. She always cares for me, even more than she cares for herself. Plus, she is taller." He pointed at Mizutsuki.

Pakunoda nodded. "Good boy, you didn't lie at all."

Kagami didn't notice when he revolver appeared in Pakunoda's hands. He was positive that it wasn't there before. To more of his amazement, six bullets appeared in her hands and she placed them into the revolver quickly with skill. "There're too much people here, so I'm going to do this twice." She announced.

To the child's horror, the tall woman shot out the bullets at her comrades. "Ahhh!" He screamed. "What are you doing? Aren't they your friends?"

"Relax." Nobunaga yawned. "They won't die just because of that."

"What are you talking about Mr. Samurai? Someone, call the ambulance right now!"

"Brat…" Phinks glared as he rubbed his temple. "Shut… up…" The memories were rushing into his brain now and he was having a major headache. "Jeesh… Oy Mizu, his mom really does look like you!"

"What?" Kagami frowned. "How do you know what my mother looks like?"

"_Memory Bomb._" Pakunoda's revolver disappeared. "I'm a Specialist Nen User. I can read other's memories and share memories with my comrades by shooting these memory bullets into their brain. But, you're just a kid; I guess that you won't understand either."

"…Ehh."

"Oh my god!" Uvogin cried. "Holy shit we've found your doppelganger Mizu!"

Mizutsuki nodded slowly as she massaged her temple. "Yeah… I can see now… we _do_ look alike…"

"I agree." Shalnark looked awed. "Not just alike, you guys are identical! I've always heard that there are three people who'd look exactly alike on earth. I didn't expect that we would actually meet one!"

Franklin shook his head. "Oy, this is no joke. Maybe his mother knows something that she shouldn't know. Paku, hurry up with the next batch."

Pakunoda nodded. "Of course." The revolver appeared again and she shot the rest of the bullets into the other member's brains.

Once every member of the Ryodan shared Kagami's memories and were amazed at how identical Hannah and Mizutsuki were, Chrollo spoke. "Machi's intuition says that they may be hiding a big secret… Bonolenov, Coltopi, and I would stay here; the rest of you guys can accompany Kagami back to his house. If you find his mother; question her."

Kagami was terrified at the announcement.

* * *

**WAAAAAA REALLY I'M SORRY QAQ. But I wanted to write this arc so bad and there may be more arcs still to come (wat). **

**Anyways reply to reviews:**

**Aiko: Thank you for your support! ****QwQ I love you. **

**Obese-Gorilla: Man I haven't seen you in so long! Thinking of crazy plot twists is my specialty if you would say. XD. I'm sorry for not much Feitan but... QAQ you know, SCHOOL. (Like, what kinds of teachers give out two tests and a project in the first week?)**


	38. Chapter 38

"I'm not sure if anyone realized or not," Franklin said slowly "But that kid and Mizutsuki kinda resembles."

"What do you mean by that?" Nobunaga asked. Other members who were close by didn't respond, but they were also listening. Mizutsuki, Machi, Feitan, and Kagami were walking at the front so they weren't aware of the conversation.

"Do you mean by personality?" Pakunoda questioned. "Because I agree that they're both brash and straightforward with what they want to say."

"That too, but I don't mean it." Franklin replied. "If you look closely, their features also resemble. Like their celestial noses and thin lips. And that wild, hateful look in their eyes like the whole world owes them money."

"Doesn't his mother look like her?" Phinks said. "It's nothing to be surprised about."

Franklin shook his head. "No, what I mean is, even this is too weird. The genetic material could only resemble so much, but it shouldn't affect the next generation."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Never mind then." Franklin replied. "Shal, can you help me look up some things? There's something I'm curious about."

"Sure!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Hannah and Pariston were sitting in a family restaurant. The customers shot them glances from time to time, but Pariston ignored it all. Hannah felt uneasy; she didn't touch the food at all. For fear that she might owe this man even more. He had already saved her once, but that was only because he mistook her for another person.

"Really, Mizu." Pariston continued to babble. "You were so adorable back then. That was the cheapest dress I ever saw but you completely ignored everyone's glances. Or perhaps you didn't notice them at all."

Hannah's ears were bleeding. He had been talking about his story with the person named 'Mizutsuki' for two hours now. "Really... I don't know who Mizu is..." She tried to say. "And I'm not her either..."

Pariston smiled; Hannah wanted to shade her eyes from the sparkles but figured that it would be rude. "Please, Mr. Hill..." She said weakly. "It's late now and I need to go home. Kagami would be waiting for me..."

Pariston paused. "Kagami? Who is that?" He asked.

"My _son_...?" Hannah didn't know how to answer. She didn't know how to answer all the questions this man threw out.

Pariston nodded thoughtfully. "I always thought that you'd stay single forever. Seems like I got it wrong."

"I'm not sure about the Mizutsuki-san you're talking about. But I love my son and I don't care about how poor we are as long as we're happy."

Pariston's smile faltered and he looked sympathetic. The reason he wasn't able to tell that Hannah wasn't Mizutsuki was because that he hasn't seen Mizutsuki in too long. Kagami sees his mother every day, so he was able to tell. "Poor thing." He sighed. "First you were abandoned by your parents and thrown to Meteor City. Then you were given to the Mafia to endure the torture-like training of being an assassin." He patted her on the shoulder.

_Meteor City? Mafia? _These words echoed in Hannah's brain. _How come these things sound so familiar? Yet they don't ring a bell either at the same time... I guess that this is what they call déjà vu._

"So how old is your son?" Pariston asked.

"He's six."

A trace of realization appeared upon Pariston's face. He finally realized that Mizutsuki and Hannah were different people. It was simple math; Mizutsuki is supposed to be twenty-one. But to have a six year old son meant that she would have had him when she was fifteen. When Pariston first met her she was nineteen, and she had no son. But instead of feeling disappointed, his interest grew. Why were there be two people that looked ridiculously alike and have the same age?

"Hmm... Interesting." He mumbled.

Hannah tilted her head. "What is interesting Mr. Hill?" She asked.

"Oh nothing just amused at how amnesia affects one's personality so much." He decided to play silent and observe; pretending that he still thinks Hannah is Mizutsuki.

"How is this Mizutsuki like?" Hannah asked. "She seems like a good person, although hot-headed."

Pariston laughed. "Oh no, Mizu-chan. Having you asking me how you behaved yourself is so ironic! It is like talking in third person. You were far from nice; you were a bloodthirsty killer that willingly massacred the Camorra Mafia that brought you up!"

Hannah gasped in horror. "Really?" _How could you be so obsessed with such a person?_

"Yes, really." He nodded. "You tried to kill me multiple times as well. But it was hard to find me due to my job consequences. So I said: it would be easier to arrange a meeting if you become a Hunter. So you became a Hunter just like that!"

"Umm..."

"My, my. It's so sad; if you sold the card or used it, you could be living a better life than this. And your son could go to school and stuff. I guess that you lost it. But what about your nen ability? Did you forget it as well?"

"Nen?" This story was getting more ridiculous by the second. Hannah decided to skip the question. "Please, Mr. Hill, I must go now. I hope that you can find the real Mizutsuki-san and have a happy relationship with her. But I must leave, I'm worried about Kagami." She stood up from her seat and left for the door.

Pariston caught up with her, looking amused. "Mizu-chan, I never had the thoughts of having a relationship with you. You're getting me wrong." What he said was true, he never held romantic feelings for Mizutsuki, only amusement. _My, my, what a big misunderstanding._ Pariston thought.

"It doesn't matter." Hannah said sternly. "You still got the wrong person, I am not Mizutsuki. You are nice, but nice to the wrong person."

Pariston sighed. "At least let me walk you home, in case you get attacked by those villagers again." He was still curious; his instinct tells him that there's a connection between her and Mizutsuki somehow.

"Sure..." Hannah was a little hesitant.

* * *

"Listen up kid." Mizutsuki said. "If you show any signs of disobedience, we'll kill your mom and Fei gets to torture you, understood?"

Kagami scowled but nodded.

"Good boy." She held up a phone. "Uvo, how's it going?"

"Just the normal thing I guess." Uvogin answered from the outside where he was ambushing. "All is well."

"Good." Mizutsuki turned off the phone and glanced back at Feitan, who was staying inside the house with her. After spending two years with him (being tortured/trained every day), they developed a strange sense of cooperation in interrogation and torture. Although when it comes to actual combat, the better pairing is still Feitan/Phinks, Mizu/Machi. He melted into the shadows of the furniture. They were ready for any sudden attacks. Mizutsuki slipped a knife out of her sleeve and held it at Kagami's throat. The look of sadistic amusement was spread across her handsome face. "Heh, I wonder how she's gonna react when she sees an identical person of herself threatening to kill her son..."

Kagami stuck out his tongue. "I'll get you one day!" He spat. "I'll become a Blacklist Hunter and arrest all of you! Just you wait and see!"

Mizutsuki snorted. "I'll be waiting for that to come." Her tone was coated in rude sarcasm.

"You better be prepared, because that day _will_ come!"

She tightened her grip on the child's shoulder. "Shush, she's coming."

* * *

Pariston had said goodbye to Hannah just at the entrance of the slum. After watching him walk away Hannah sprinted back home. _I wonder if Kagami is alright..._ She thought anxiously.

"I'm home!" She called out to the darkness.

Mizutsuki knelt down and whispered in Kagami's ear._ "Answer."_

Kagami gulped. "Mommy!" He called, straining his strength to not let his voice tremble.

Hannah was overwhelmed to hear Kagami's voice. Little did she know that there were two professional killers in her house right now. She walked into the living room with a bright smile. "Kaga_-!_"

Feitan had pinned her down with one arm and he flicked on the lights. "Scream, struggle, call out for help; do any of these and your son would die." He whispered in her ear.

Mizutsuki pushed Kagami forward, the sadistic grin blooming. "_My, my, my!_" She exclaimed. "We look more alike than I thought! Nice to meet you, I'm Mizutsuki."

Hannah gasped in surprise. She didn't know what to do. Beg for the mercy of her child or recall the information of Mizutsuki Pariston had told her. She decided that Kagami's safety first. "DON'T HARM MY CHILD!" She screamed.

Feitan tightened his grip. "Shut up." He hissed.

"Now, now." Mizutsuki stepped forward. "We have a few questions to ask you. Who are you and why do you have the same face as me?" She asked.

Hannah shook her head furiously. "I don't know! I was born this way!"

Feitan held up his sword and placed it at her throat. "Don't lie." He hissed.

"_I'm not! Let Kagami go! Please, I beg you!_" She was very panicked.

"Tell the truth or your son dies." Mizutsuki snapped. "I'll break his left arm first."

"No! Don't!"

"Then tell the truth!" Feitan said, killing aura reeking out.

"I AM! I WAS BORN THIS WAY! PLEASE, I ONLY HAVE ONE CHILD, DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!"

Mizutsuki narrowed her eyes. "Troublesome woman..." She muttered and snapped Kagami's left arm.

Kagami screamed in pain and Hannah screamed as well. "_NO!_"

"_One more chance._" Feitan said. "This time, it would be your arm I'd slice off. I wouldn't be as nice as Mizutsuki, sorry. And after we kill you, I will torture your son until he dies..."

Hannah shook her head furiously. "No!" She wept. _Oh _god_ why are you doing this to me...?_

"Tell the truth, who are you and why are you posing as Mizutsuki. Did one of the Mafia families order you to?"

"I REALLY DON'T KNOW! LET US GO, PLEASE!"

Feitan narrowed his eyes and raised his sword. "Tsk..."

Just before his sword made contact with the flesh, the door was thrown open and two members marched in: Franklin and Shalnark. "_Time out!_" Shalnark shouted.

Mizutsuki blinked. "What are you doing here Shalnark?" She asked. "Aren't you supposed to be outside? Franklin you too."

Franklin sighed. "Feitan, Phinks, Mizutsuki, the members with the worse tempers. You three never think before your actions."

Feitan frowned. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "If you are going to hinder us I would kill you."

Shalnark held up his hands. "Hey! Hey!" He cried. "Mizu! I think that you should know something before you decide to harm the two of them."

"I've already broken the brat's arm." She said.

"Oh... Whatever!"

"So _what_ is it we need to know before we kill them?" Feitan asked skeptically. "If you don't mind we'd like to continue on with the interrogation."

Shalnark looked straight at Mizutsuki and handed her an envelope. "Read this." He said. "I'll hold the kid for you. And if you still decide to kill them after, we wouldn't stop you. We just thought that you'd like to know."

Narrowing her eyes Mizutsuki took the envelope away and Shalnark took hold of Kagami, who was crying over the pain of his broken arm.

Slowly she pulled out the contents of the envelope. It was the birth certificate of Hannah. "Pffft, what is this?" She asked. "A birth certificate?"

"Read it." Franklin replied.

Shooting him an annoyed glance she read down the lines and paragraphs. Slowly she finished reading the paragraphs and she tossed the papers away. "What the heck is that supposed to do?" She spat. "It's just a normal birth certificate. Hand me back the brat Shalnark, I'mma break his neck now."

Shalnark facepalmed and Franklin sighed. Hannah blinked Kagami stared at them. Feitan stared at the pile of papers on the ground. "What's on it?" He asked Mizutsuki.

"_Nothing_!" She cried. "Her parent's name, her place of birth, her birthday, the date of registration… What's all that supposed to tell me?"

"You have the same birthdays." Shalnark deadpanned. "Do you get what we mean now?"

"The same birthday…?" Mizutsuki echoed. Somehow that sentence struck a string in her mind. It was a blurry feel, and she didn't know what it is. "So…?" She asked. "What does that have to do with me?"

Franklin sighed. "You're really slow when it comes to this kind of stuff… She's your twin sister!"

* * *

**Is this too dramatic? Too cheesy? (OmO;) Is the story okay so far? I'm sorry but I've been reading books and watching anime with _amazing_ plot twists. I feel so weak and tiny compared to them...**

**So yes, let's just ignore my depressing speech above and discuss about the story. Hannah is Mizu's twin sister, so does that make Kagami Mizu's niece or something? Oh my, Kagami wouldn't be happy being related to a criminal. And now Hannah's been in touch with Pariston, how would Mizu react to that ?(I'm guessing that she'd react violently.)**

**If you wanna know what's going to happen, stay tuned~ **


	39. Chapter 39

"Impossible." Mizutsuki replied after a long silence. "I would never have a twin sister. Even if this woman is my twin, why wasn't she in Ryūseigai with me?"

"It isn't weird for your parents to throw away one of their children." Shalnark explained. "They needed someone to help them work, but they couldn't feed two mouths."

"Tsk..."

Franklin glanced at Hannah. "What is your blood type?"

Hannah bit her lips nervously, her eyes darting. "AB..." She answered in the end.

Mizutsuki's expression darkened. "Positive or Negative?" She asked.

"Ehh?" Hannah looked bewildered. "I don't know!"

"Mizu, no one would know the details of their blood types." Shalnark said. "But do you understand now?"

Feitan scowled. "This is ridiculous..." He muttered.

Mizutsuki was silent, then she walked towards Hannah and knelt down in front of her, her eyes bore into hers. Hannah wanted to look away, but she couldn't. Mizutsuki studied Hannah. She had the exact same features as her, but her cheeks were hollow due to starvation and there were small wrinkles beside her eyes due to smiling. Her expression was softer overall. Hannah studied Mizutsuki as well, but her heart was pounding. Mizutsuki was like a healthier, colder version of herself. Her gaze was icy cold and her expression unfriendly. Nevertheless, they were identical.

"Bastards..." Mizutsuki stood up and paced around the room. Feitan watched her intently, as she was the core of this situation. Shalnark called the other members over the phone and Franklin waited. Kagami was still in shock. _This woman... This heartless psychopath killer, is my aunt? No way..._

After a long while, Mizutsuki stopped pacing around and she looked up from her facepalm. She shot a glare at Hannah and Kagami, which sent a shiver down their spines. "If so, we have nothing to do with them." She said. "Let them go, I don't wanna see their faces ever again..."

"Mizutsuki!" Feitan snapped. "What's wrong with you? Just because they're your relatives, you're going easy on them? Ridiculous."

"_Relatives_? What is that?" Mizutsuki snorted. "They are not part of Ryūseigai."

"We won't consider you family either!" Kagami screamed.

"Kagami! Be quiet!" Hannah snapped. Kagami stared at his mother in surprise; this was the first time she snapped at him. Hannah's expression was a little different now, a little scared but determined. She looked straight at Mizutsuki. "I will not admit that you are my sister either." She said. "If you're done with us, get out of our house. Mr. Hill is such a poor man..."

At the mention of Pariston, Mizutsuki's expression changed. "_Mr. Hill_?" She echoed.

Hannah nodded. "Pariston Hill." She replied. "I don't know what you did to make him fall for you, but he definitely deserves someone better!"

Mizutsuki was over in a second and she grabbed Hannah's collar. "_Pariston Hill?_" Her tone was trembling in anger. "You've seen him? _Where is he? Where is that fucking Blondie?_" Blood roared in her ears, whenever she hears the name Pariston, she loses all sense and goes crazy.

Shalnark looked alarmed. "Mizu!" He cried.

"Shut up Shalnark, this is our business." She said without looking back. At this point Feitan let go of Hannah and stepped back. He was somewhat pleased to see Mizutsuki acting so violent towards her twin sister.

"Hey! Let go of my mom!" Kagami cried.

Feitan kicked the child in the stomach and Mizutsuki threw a knife into the wall behind him.

"Kagami!" Hannah cried, but Mizutsuki clutched her throat. "Shut up, brat." She said, not looking back. "Tell me, where is he?"

Hannah glared at her twin through teary eyes, Mizutsuki was choking her. She felt dizzy. "I'll... never... tell..." She said weakly.

"Che." Mizutsuki let go of her and stood up. Just when Hannah was starting to think it was over; Mizutsuki punched her in the stomach and slapped her across the cheek. She pulled her hair and threw her against the wall, pinning her to it. "_Oh, my dear twin sister_." She said in a dangerous sweet tone. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me where Pariston is?"

"Mommy! Don't tell!" Kagami cried. He figured that the 'Pariston' was probably a good person and Mizutsuki was going to harm him. But he was acting on his own justice.

"Ka...gami..." Hannah mumbled. Blood trickled down her chin.

Franklin put a hand onto Mizutsuki's shoulder. "Hey Mizu, I think that's enough. Ryūseigai citizen or not, she's your sister."

"Tsk…" Mizutsuki was silent for a moment, then she let go of Hannah, who slumped to the ground and coughed for air. "Kagami..."

"Mommy..." The child tried to struggle against Shalnark's grasp. He shot Shalnark a glare but blinked when he saw that the man's expression was clouded with worry. He looked around and realized that everyone's expression had changed. Mizutsuki was frustrated, Shalnark was worried, Franklin was stern and Feitan... Well, Feitan's didn't change.

"Take them back to the hideout..." Mizutsuki said in the end. "Machi's intuition was correct. They are hiding something; it's probably about Pariston." She glared at Hannah. "I can't believe that you're my twin. Just thinking of you being on Pariston's side disgust me!"

Compared to Pariston, her blood-related sister and niece seemed like a minor detail.

She glanced at Feitan. "Fei, do me a favor please."

Feitan raised an eyebrow. "What?" He deadpanned.

"Torture them all you can until they spit out all the information of Pariston." Her gaze was dead. "If I don't see a few limbs lying on the ground when I come back, I'll be mad at you. I'm going to walk around town, see if I can find him. I'm gonna finish him once and for all this time..." She punched the wall in rage. "I should've killed him two years ago..._!_"

"No... You're wrong..." Hannah said weakly. "I've only known Mr. Hill for a few hours... Please don't harm us..."

Mizutsuki clenched her fists. "It doesn't matter." She said darkly. "Anyone associating with Pariston, I _hate_."

"Who is this Pariston guy?" Feitan asked.

"Ask Shalnark." Mizutsuki said. "I'm leaving; I'll meet you guys back at the hideout." Before stepping out of the door, she shot Kagami and Hannah an annoyed glare. Hannah didn't see it, as she was bending over in pain. But Kagami glared right back.

After Mizutsuki left, the rest were left in silence. Feitan broke the silence. "Shalnark, who is that Pariston guy?" He asked in a monotone.

Shalnark shrugged. "I think that... It's her ex-boyfriend or something. He's the vice president of the Hunter Association – _I don't wanna go in detail of that_. He once posed as a threat against us, but Mizu got rid of him before he caused too big of a problem. But now he's back and her grudge is burning. It's part of Mizu's dark history."

"Then don't explain." Franklin said. "Respect her privacy; we all have something dark in our pasts that we don't wanna talk about. Let's just do it as Mizutsuki wants. Let her handle the situation, we will have to interrogate them and give her info." He glanced at Kagami and Hannah. Hannah looked devastated and Kagami had hate burning in his eyes.

* * *

Mizutsuki had her hands in her jersey pockets. Her expression itself could have scared off a bear. _Pariston...!_

* * *

"Ahh, we're sorry about Mizu's violent ways." Shalnark scratched his neck. He was helping Hannah stand and walking back towards their hideout. Hannah had a bruise on her lip. Feitan was holding Kagami. "She's one of the more violent ones in the Ryodan. And she goes absolutely crazy whenever someone mentions a certain noun starting with _P_ and ending with _N_. She also goes crazy whenever exposed to alcohol."

Hannah wasn't used to glaring, but she tried. "But we're innocent!" She protested. "What kind of person is she? She's planning to torture us and kill us when we've only known her for ten minutes! I only met Mr. Hill today and he saved me from a bunch of townspeople abusing me, thinking that I was _her_! He's an honorable and noble man, why would she want to kill him?"

"For a twin, you two have very different personalities." Franklin said calmly. "Kagami is lucky to have you as a mother. If Mizutsuki _ever_ has a child, I'll feel sorry for him."

Kagami glared at Franklin. "Don't say my name so casually, mass murderer!" He snapped.

Feitan tightened his grip. "Brat, say another word and you'll find yourself missing a tongue."

"Don't harm my child!" Hannah cried.

Feitan glared at her too. "The same goes for you. You have the same face as Mizutsuki; I'll have fun beating you up..." His eyes shone in sadistic amusement.

"Fei!" Shalnark cried. "Save the violence for later, we're walking on the streets and we're looking suspicious already!"

Hannah bit her lips. Oh dear... "Isn't she my sister of some sorts?" She asked (She had problems saying the word 'sister'). "Why would she harm us?"

"She grew up in Ryūseigai like us." Franklin replied. "You are not part of Ryūseigai; she could really care less for you. And she went through a lot of torture during her childhood. _That_ caused her to have such a personality. But she's a very trustworthy and powerful member."

"You guys are nothing good, so that's not a good thing either." Kagami spat.

"Brat...!"

"FEITAN!"

"Tsk..."

Hannah wanted to know these people better, so she could form a better plan of escaping. Shalnark and Franklin seemed okay to talk to, but Feitan she didn't want to face. Neither did Mizutsuki. "_What_ Ryūseigai? _What_ torture?" She asked. "That sounds like it's from a fairy tale."

"You could say it is..." Shalnark sighed. "She was borned in the same family, along with you. But she was thrown away the second she was born. Thrown to Ryūseigai; a junkyard city for outcasts. Ryūseigai is where anything can be gotten rid of, from weapons to corpses and newborn babies. No information about the people from this city appears in any official records; therefore the Mafia Community has been employing its inhabitants for criminal activities. The people here have a strong tie to each other. Because they accept anything that the rest of the world throws away, but they do not allow anything to be taken back from them." His expression turned a little darker at the end.

Franklin nodded. "The citizens of Ryūseigai all have a strong bond. That's why she chose to stay with us and massacred the Mafia that employed her and took her away."

"That seems like a long story."

"Not really. What? Are you interested?" Franklin asked. "Well yeah, you must be curious in some way. She's your long lost twin."

Hannah didn't answer, hoping that they'd take it as go-ahead-and-tell-the-story. Kagami was furious; he wasn't as cool headed as his mother after all. _I will become a Hunter and arrest all of you... _He thought darkly. _Just you wait and see..._

"After being given to the Camorra Mafia to train as an assassin, she was tortured every day and had to learn a bunch of assassinating skills. The training was inhuman. In a way, she lived a harder life than you." Shalnark said. "She is also part of Ryūseigai, and she missed it."

"So when we came along, she gladly joined us and massacred the Mafia that employed her. Because we remind her of home." Franklin continued. "It may sound irrational to you, killing people just for this stupid cause, but it's perfectly normal to us."

Franklin was right, Hannah could not understand at all. She didn't understand and didn't _want_ to understand. She couldn't imagine what kind of life her twin sister had been through. Every one of the Genei Ryodan was insane.

Kagami studied his mother carefully. _Mother is hesitating because that woman is her twin sister._ He thought. _But I won't, that woman, and all these people, are evil. They're bad, there's nothing to hesitate about..._

* * *

At the same time, Mizutsuki was busy dealing up townspeople that had thought she was Hannah.

"I will say this one last time..." She said. "Get out of my sight before I kill all of you. I'm not in a good mood right now."

One of the delinquents snorted and tugged her hair. "All bossy now eh? I heard that your friend beat up some of my bros pretty bad this afternoon."

"That was not me, can't you tell? Idiots..." She muttered.

"Heh, so? Aren't you going to play with us?" Another licked his lips greedily, eyeing her up and down like he was deciding which part of her he wanted to strip first.

Mizutsuki's expression grew extremely dark. "_Oh yes, of course I would play with you_..." She said. In a flash she had kicked the man in the jaw. He flew out for ten meters and slammed into the wall.

"Don't fuck with me..." She breathed. "I will kill you. This is the last warning."

The rest gawked at her power but did not hear her warning. "G-Get her!" One screamed. The rest charged on, holding metal pipes and broken bottles as weapons.

She grabbed a man's wrist and twisted it so it became dislocated. She kicked the same man in the legs and he fell forward into one of his comrades. Mizutsuki shoved a knife into another's shoulder while she gathered up aura in her other hand. She caught one of the pipes and the metal splattered onto the ground, giving off a foul smell of rust and acid.

"Do you people still want to fight me?" She asked.

"Don't be so cocky, little bitch...!"

"Annnnnnnnd _this_ is why I hate idiots." She held up her hand and snapped her fingers. "_Meltdown_."

The moist air was immediately turned into vaporized acid. The townspeople fell to their knees and clutched their throats in agony. Their lungs melted and they couldn't even scream anymore. All they could do is gasp painfully for the air that would worsen their situation.

When they finally died, she adjusted her jacket that was lopsided. "Damn these bastards..." She muttered. "Wasted my time..."

As she was about to walk away she felt the presence of another person standing on top of the roof. He had used Zetsu to hide his presence until now; she was too indulged in battle to notice. The person was behind her in an instant; he was strong on a ridiculous level. Her heart pounded faster; she could tell just by the faint trace of aura lingering around him. And that pleasant smell (was it shampoo or shower gel?) that always nauseated her...

The blonde man clapped. "That was a good show you put on. Mizu-chan!"

She turned around and stared into the face of the man she hated with all her soul. "You were watching the whole time right? Pariston!"

* * *

***facepalm* Oh Mizu, you so heartless. **

**Another chapter updated; whew. Is this alright for you guys? Mizutsuki doesn't really care about Hannah and Kagami****(heck, she doesn't even recognize them as sister and niece) But she goes crazy after she hears Pariston's name =3=. Mizu, you're a BAD sibling. (Don't sue me for being a heartless writer.)**

**I'll say it here I guess. This is the final arc of this story. And after this arc ends, the story would end too. But I want to write the series too so it'll continue (in a way). Right now I'm terribly frustrated: _should I write the series arc as _another_ story, or continue in this one and make this fic eighty chapters long? _(I NEED YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS) ****And I'm terribly sorry, Shizuku, for leaving you out. I'll probably write a Shizuku fic sometime in the far future to make up.**

**Review! (You know, It really annoys me off when reviews are less than two times the number of the chapters. Like, if I have forty chapters, 40 x 2 = 80, I'd like to have at least 80 reviews. I'm a review whore OTZ. Can I count on you guys to give me an average of two reviews per chapter? Please? (/OwQ/)**


	40. Chapter 40

**You guys might hate me for this chapter, but I have a plot coming up so just don't click that red X yet... (Please)**

* * *

"Long time no see, Pariston." Mizutsuki pressed down the urge to start a fight then and there. "How long had it been?"

"Two years maybe?" Pariston smiled pleasantly. "You didn't change at all."

"Really? What about my height? I grew a lot taller." She was taller than Machi.

"Hmm, I couldn't really tell."

A vein bulged on her forehead. "Okay... Why are you here today? And what kind of relationship do you have with my sister?"

Pariston nodded slowly. "Oh, so Hannah-chan was your sister? You're a twin I guess?"

Mizutsuki raised an eyebrow. "What? You're talking like you barely know her."

He nodded. "Yes indeed, I've only known her for about three hours."

Mizutsuki was surprised. "Are you kidding?" She asked. "Because I don't like it when people joke around with me."

Pariston shook his head. "Nope, I'm telling the truth. I only mistook her for you today and had some conversations with her." He smiled. "Although you're nearly identical, she's a lot gentler than you."

Mizutsuki bit her lips. _What is he thinking?_ She thought that Hannah and Pariston had known each other for a long time and they were plotting her disposal of some sorts together. But now that didn't seem possible either... "Why are you here today?" She repeated.

"There's an archaeological digging ground a few miles from here that Ging worked on before. I came to observe his work." His radiant smile made Mizutsuki want to strangle him. "By the way, he was the man you met at the Oden stand. Where you beat up Johness the Dissector? Ringing any bells?"

She remembered the night faintly; it was also the night when Feitan scared the hell out of her. "Yeah," She said. "I think I remember."

"Yep, I didn't expect meeting you here though." He seemed to be in an extremely good mood. "Is there anything else you wanna talk about?"

"Hmm, let's see. I know! Let's discuss on how to kill you." Her tone was dead.

Pariston seemed unaffected by her lack of positive emotion. "Oh well, let's go for a walk outside of town. If you're gonna kill me, we better choose a place far from town. In the wilderness probably; people are resting now after all."

Mizutsuki chewed the insides of her cheeks until it bled. _Mizutsuki, don't fall into his trap. Don't let him have things his way..._ "Fine." She said. "I'll meet you there at twelve."

"I'll see you there." Pariston smiled.

* * *

"You know, Mizu, although it's been long times since you've disappeared from the Mafia world, those Mafia communities are still very keen on finding you and employing you." Pariston did come to their meeting, to Mizutsuki's surprise. They were two miles away from the town and slum in the desert. If they were here, it didn't matter how big of a fight it was.

"They could go fuck themselves..." Mizutsuki muttered.

"It's not very lady-like to swear you know."

"There's no 'lady-like' in my dictionary." Mizutsuki replied. "If you like me so much, you should know that."

"Of course, I also know that you failed the etiquette class back in training."

Mizutsuki choked on air. "You bastard!" She snapped. "About how far into my life have you investigated?"

"Not as much as you think apparently." Pariston turned left and headed into the countryside. "I had no idea that you had a twin sister until today. And I've never been to Ryūseigai either; although I'm planning to visit it someday..."

Mizutsuki pulled a knife out of her pocket and pointed it at his throat. "Think of that, say that, do that, I will kill you." She said. "Actually, I would like to kill you here right now. I don't care if you're a triple star Hunter or the Vice Chairman of the Hunter Association. You just sit in the Hunter Association's Building office every day dealing with crap while I fight for my life. You have no idea how many bloodbaths and wars and fights I've been through. I have confidence in my own abilities."

"Hmm, you have a point there." Pariston said thoughtfully. "But as fun as that would be, I don't plan on dying any soon."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really, is that so hard to believe? There are many things else I want to do before I die." He smiled. "When I feel like there's nothing fun left to do, I'll probably fight you and let you kill me. But today, I don't wanna fight."

Mizutsuki glared. "Don't talk about me like I'm some toy!" She snapped.

"There are many things and people I find amusing, and you're one of them. To tell you the truth, I only like toying with you because you want to kill me. If you didn't hate me so much, you wouldn't be amusing at all."

It was incredible how Pariston could say all this with a straight face.

Mizutsuki was speechless at the news. She had no idea how to react to that. Was that good news or bad news? Somehow she felt a little bit empty. It felt like he was underestimating her, and that made her pissed. "Say that again, you bastard."

"Ahaha, nah, as I've said, I don't wanna die any soon." His attitude was still pleasant.

"If you don't plan on dying any soon, why are you even here?" Mizutsuki asked. "Why are you even letting me point a blade at your neck right now?"

"Hmm, even though you've found out who you are, you still couldn't change the habit of asking for reasons right?" He continued on nonchalantly. "You always asked for reasons from your clients before you kill the targets. But a killer machine like you could never understand human emotion right? In the end, you defined yourself as a true villain and stopped caring. But habits are hard to change."

Mizutsuki was shocked. "Just...just how much do you know?" She asked. She could have driven the knife through his throat then and there, but she didn't. She wanted to know how Pariston knew everything. This was a silent secret. A paradox of thought that should never be spoken out loud.

When she had been unable to recognize herself as a person, she started to seek help from others by asking them questions - the reasons why they wanted others to die. She hoped that she could understand human nature from it, therefore understanding herself. But after joining the Phantom Troupe, she realized: there was no need to do so. Because she had killed too many people; she was a killing machine and so were the other members. She was grateful that there were other people like her in the world, people who wanted to find their true selves through killing and stealing.

"It's not hard to guess." Pariston said. "Criminology can back up all my words."

Mizutsuki bit her lips. Even this darkest secret had been exposed, was there anything else he didn't know? In that second she felt utterly useless and weak, just a tiny speck of living in the big waves of the universe.

"I'll kill you." She deadpanned. "And I'll cut off your tongue from your corpse so you can never speak again, even as a revenant haunting me." Her killing aura poured out and covered the whole area. If it was normal people without the guard of nen, they'd probably faint or become sick. But Pariston looked unaffected for some reason; even if the opponent could use nen, this should have done some kind of damage more or less.

"You know, Mizu." He started casually. "I've always wondered, your ability is to transmute your aura into highly corrosive acid right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Your aura covers every inch of your skin, so technically, if you wanted to harm someone with your aura, you should've worn less clothing to expose skin and aura. But although you wear shorts, why don't you wear short sleeves or tank tops too?"

The alarm rang in her mind. He had just pointed out a major point in her abilities; if people guessed this point, she would be put at a high disadvantage from the start. _Holy shit… His intuitions are sharper than Machi and his analyzing is better than Shalnark…_

He looked thoughtful. "I'm thinking that it's because you regard your nen abilities as a last-resort? Either that, or there are limits to it so you don't want to use them. But I do know that you use them when you're in a hurry; but we're not in a hurry now are we?"

_BAM_. Correct again. If he found out about it, forget about fighting, she might as well run. It's strange that he can pin someone down just by a few simple words.

"You are skilled in knife wielding, especially in throwing them. And I'm guessing that there are a bunch of them stocked under your sleeves? Judging from the size of the knife you just pointed at me, and that you're wearing a jacket as well; you have about forty knives stocked?" He laughed. "Well, of course you can finish normal opponents without using much of them, but I'm different you know. I'm not a normal opponent you fight every day."

"…Can you shut up?" A vein bulged on her forehead. She was angry at him for being all correct. His guesses were all correct too last time after the Hunter Exam. _Does he have another ability called Super-Accurate-Guesses apart from conjuring sparkles?_

"Oh no, I'm doing this for your own good you know." He said. "You have no idea what my ability is, and I have a good summary of yours. You'll lose to me in a fight!" He ignored the murderous expression on her face. "If I can last until you've finished using all your knives, all I have to do next is to be careful not to make skin contact. Am I right?"

_Yes, you're right. _Barely anyone can notice this, but he did. This was about the only way to defeat her unless you have some dirty traps set up from the start; last until she uses up all her weapons, and then try not to make skin contact.

She felt the dreadful pressure of his power. His nen ability wasn't scary and nor were his status as Vice Chairman. The most horrifying thing about him was his brain; you have no idea what he is thinking. She tried to think of another plan but couldn't; the silent aura seem to be binding her thoughts. He could pin you down with only a few simple sentences.

_Think godammit think! Think outside the box like you did in the fucking Hunter Exam! Analyze his words like he did with yours godammit!_ She thought for a few seconds and recalled one particular sentence.

"Fine, fine," She said. "I lose. You win. Happy? I will stop trying to kill you, so can you please stop digging through my privacy as well? You said it yourself right?" She kicked his leg, annoyed. "You only like me because I want to kill you. Now I won't kill you. So you could move on with your life and forget about me. I won't bother you and you won't bother me."

"I'm fine with that..." He said thoughtfully. "But are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I've been selfish, thinking only of my grudge and not the safety of the Ryodan. So you were interested, because I wanted to kill you, and the Genei Ryodan would certainly back me up. You would get the chance to toy with the Genei Ryodan as well. So now I'll put the Ryodan's safety first, and I will stop hunting you down. You will lose interest in us then, right?"

"Logically." He replied. "But it's rather hard to believe. I don't really think that you could keep your vow." Her held her hand and pointed the knife at himself.

"Don't be ridiculous." She deadpanned. "All I want now is for you to get away from the Ryodan." She really wanted to shove the knife down his throat but sense stopped her from doing so. It would be an ugly fight; besides, she didn't even know his abilities, it would be a disadvantage for her. Not to mention that he's already got her pinned.

"Hmm..." Pariston looked crestfallen. "That's too sad."

"Are you an idiot? I wouldn't want to kill you anymore! Ain't that a good thing?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't." He said; his expression was hard to read (That was nothing unusual though.) "Thanks Mizu, I enjoyed talking with you. Maybe we can go out for lunch next time."

"Don't even think about it. Now that we've had an agreement, I'm going back now."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No. I'll be faster on foot."

"That's an unusual thing to say, but true. Bye then, Mizutsuki."

"Bye." Mizutsuki said. "Don't ever let me see you again." In a flash she was gone, what was left of her was only the flying dust.

Pariston sighed. "Another toy, lost."

* * *

"Feitan, why did you beat up Mizu?" Bonolenov asked.

"She's not Mizutsuki." Feitan deadpanned. "She's her twin, the brat's mother."

Although the Genei Ryodan was trained to hide emotions, there was no way hiding the shock on their faces. "Wow, they look more alike than I thought. Even their auras are similar." Nobunaga whistled.

"Not really," Shalnark said. "Mizu's aura is colder and more violent. Hannah's aura is only like this because she's in a bad mood."

"Why is she in a bad mood?" Uvogin asked.

"Dude, she's being kidnapped and we're probably going to kill her. Who wouldn't be in a bad mood?" Phinks said.

Pakunoda crossed her arms. "So? How did Mizutsuki react to this? She's her twin and he's her nephew."

Kagami stuck out his tongue. "She's not my aunt!" He spat.

Feitan glared.

Chrollo snapped his book shut. "We should respect Mizutsuki's decisions here. Where is she?"

"Long story short. Her twin met one of her old enemies here and now learning the information, she's hunting him down. She hates him a lot. She thinks that her twin and that enemy are planning to kill her or something. We are supposed to interrogate them and give her information of their plan."

"I don't know a thing you're talking about!" Hannah cried.

"We'll see once we start the interrogation." Chrollo replied. "Paku..."

"Danchou," Feitan said. "Mizutsuki said that she wants me to handle the interrogation."

"She also said that if she doesn't see a few limbs lying on the ground when she comes back, she'll be mad at Feitan." Shalnark added (un)helpfully.

Phinks snorted. "Wow, ain't she heartless; her own twin sister!"

Machi crossed her arms. "That's because she hangs out with you and Feitan too much." She muttered. "You guys made her more violent than she was before. She doesn't even like you guys, why are you three so close anyway?"

"Not my business. I don't know about Phinks but we have the same taste in books." Feitan replied. "So Danchou is it alright?"

Chrollo nodded. "Sure, but be careful about the screaming. I'm getting to a good part in the book and I don't wanna get interrupted."

All Hannah and Kagami could to was glare, and feel terrified.

* * *

Mizutsuki pulled out her phone and dialed the number of Feitan. It rang a few times before he picked it up. "What?" He said.

"Fei, having you started to interrogate yet?"

"No."

She raised an eyebrow, although she knew that he couldn't see. "By '_no_', do you mean that you've started, but hadn't had any fun yet. Or you really haven't started the interrogation?"

"I've only started to warm up." He replied.

Mizutsuki bit her lips; Feitan's '_warm up_' could mean a lot of things. "Whatever, stop now. I'm heading back."

"You're such a killjoy."

"I'm Mizutsuki, what do you expect?" She exclaimed. "Let them back to their house, set the brat's arm back too. I'll deal with them personally from now on, don't stop me."

"Who do you think you are?" Feitan snapped. "Giving me orders."

"I'll pay you."

Feitan was silent for a few seconds, seeming to consider. "Talk to Danchou."

There were a few shuffling noises, and Chrollo's voice spoke. "Mizu, I will permit to let you have your way. But in exchange, you must let us know everything. Shalnark is finding it hard to explain, which is unusual."

"Of course." Mizutsuki sighed. "Let Pakunoda do whatever she wants to my head."

"We would not let them go now still." Chrollo went on. "You come back first, let Pakunoda read your memories and share it with us. You will accompany your twin and niece back to their house. That would be your business from then on; and while you're together, we'll decide on what to do."

She nodded. "I'm fine with that." She said. "Danchou, you and the members might be disappointed though when you read my memories. I will say sorry here first so it wouldn't be awkward later. Sorry."

"I would not say '_it's alright_' here either." Chrollo replied. "If it is really a dangerous situation you put us in. But we will trust you as a member nevertheless."

"Thank you, Danchou." She ended the call and slipped the phone back into her pocket. Her body ached slightly from running so much. She was tired and in a gloomy bad mood.

* * *

To her surprise, the other members of the Ryodan did not think that Pariston was a big deal. Hannah and Kagami stared at her in fear as she led them out of the hideout. Although they were all blood related relatives, it felt as if there was an invisible wall between them. They lived in different worlds.

* * *

**Sorry for no epic fighting scenes - 3 -. I don't know Pariston's ability and fighting skills, so I didn't want to write it. If one day Togashi magically started drawing again and I got it all wrong, it'd be awkward. But I do know that Pariston is smart, so I tried to write him as smart as I could. (I'm not a smart person either so don't complain please.)**

**Anyways, I have a plot coming up and I think you'd like it *wink*.**

**Review! (I'm wondering if I can get to 90 reviews lol)**


	41. Chapter 41

**Did you know? I got Hannah's name from 'Hana', meaning 'flower' in Japanese! And 'Kagami' means 'Mirror'. Mizutuki, as I've stated before, means 'Water Moon.'. If you write all their names in kanji and line them in order (Kagami-Hannah-Mizutsuki), you'd get the phrase '鏡花水月', which means '_Elusive_'! Like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the reflection of the water.**

* * *

**PS: To my surprise, I didn't receive any hate last chapter o.O I thought that you guys would all be _dying_ to see an epic battle between Mizu and Pariston. Even so, I think you'll hate me for this chapter...**

* * *

"Sit." Mizutsuki pointed at the worn-out sofa. Actually, it didn't look like a sofa anymore; it looked more like a forest of springs covered up with a piece of dirty cloth.

Hannah and Kagami sat down.

"...How should I start this?" Mizutsuki was annoyed.

"Get out of our house!" Kagami muttered under his breath.

Mizutsuki pointed a pair of silver scissors at him. "I heard that, brat." She said. The pair of scissors snapped shut; if Kagami hadn't leaned back in time his would have lost his nose.

"Don't harm him!" Hannah cried.

"Holy crap can you stop saying that?" Mizutsuki muttered. "My ears are bleeding..."

"Don't swear in front of him either."

Mizutsuki grabbed her collar. "You know, as my twin, you're fucking annoying with your outpouring love for your son." She emphasized on the swear word.

"That's because you've never been loved before." Hannah shot back. "But then again, no one would love you anyway."

"You're gaining some guts now huh...?" She scowled. "Do you know how much bones do an average six year old have?"

"I don't know." Hannah answered.

"They have about approximately 210, but I've always doubted what textbooks teach. I prefer _actual experiment_. Now we have a six year old here, why don't we have fun learning how to count?"

Kagami tried to kick her but she dodged; he crashed to the ground.

"Machi's nen strings aren't that easy to get rid of. Unless I call for her to release the nen, or three days passed, it's impossible to break through."

The mother and son glared.

"So, let's get to the main point here. I've met with Pariston and he had confirmed that you guys barely know him; lucky for you. But it's our family business from now on." She paused to think if what to say next. "Where are your parents? I outta visit them and congratulate them that they have such a wonderful daughter and a grandson with 210 bones."

Kagami glared.

"Don't even think about harming my mother and father!" Hannah cried. "They're just helpless old people!"

"Well, I _am_ their daughter too right? Is there something wrong with paying them a visit?" Her eyes shone in sadistic amusement.

"If you weren't a mass murderer, and you were a nice person, I'd be more than glad to lead you to them. But you're not! You disgust me, Mizutsuki."

Mizutsuki narrowed her eyes. "My, my, is this something you should say to your older sister?" With that said, she punched Hannah in the stomach and Hannah felt her internal organs being squished together. "Gah..." Blood spilled out of her mouth.

Kagami watched in anger and horror.

"Since we will probably never know whose older, I'll just decide that I'm the older one." She breathed. "Do you hate me? Little sister..."

Hannah glared at her. "Of course..." She said.

"And you? Brat." Mizutsuki glanced at Kagami, who only replied with a hateful glare.

"I'll take that as a yes." Mizutsuki nodded. "But hey, little sister, me and your life, which one do you hate more?"

Hannah blinked. "What...?"

Mizutsuki held up a check. "This check is the key to ten billion dollars. I'll give it to you for free if you can answer me. So? Are you going to refuse this gift because you hate me and won't accept anything from me, or you'll take it and feel guilty for the rest of your life while bathing in luxury?" Her smile was pure psychotic evil; this was mental torture she learned from dear Feitan. "Which one?" She breathed in her ear. "Don't you want Kagami to go to school and get proper education? Don't you want Kagami to eat full meals everyday?"

Hannah stared. The check in Mizutsuki's hands was true, if she took it, she never would have to worry about starving or Kagami's education anymore. But it is 100% blood money, she'll regret it deeply though. It was like making a contract with the devil, the devil being her sister. Take the blood money and live a wealthy life. Or refuse the blood money and live in the slum forever?

Actually, she'd feel guilty either way.

"C'mon little sister, choose." Mizutsuki waved the check in front of her face. "Take it from your dear older sister and live in wealth and regret forever. Don't take it and live in regret too. If you are going to regret either way, why don't you take it and regret?"

"Mom! Don't take it!" Kagami cried.

Hannah's eyes were glued to the check. My pride, or my son's future? She thought bitterly. The answer was obvious.

Make a contract with the devil. Mizutsuki thought evilly. What would make her happy wasn't the desperate expression Hannah has on her face right now. It was the guilt that Hannah had to carry for the rest of her life. The ten billion check was true, but it was a small number to her. Just rob another bank and she can get it all back.

Hand shaking, Hannah took the check from her.

Mizutsuki patted her head. "That's my dear little sister!" She cackled evilly. "You can let Kagami go to school now, ain't that fine?"

"I WON'T GO TO SCHOOL!" Kagami screamed and stood up. "WHY DID YOU TAKE IT MOTHER?"

"Because we need money!" Hannah bursted into tears. "I don't wanna do this too! But I don't want to get bullied by the townspeople again. And you want to go to school too right? Kagami!"

"I want to, but I don't want to go to school if it is her helping us."

Mizutsuki sighed. "What an annoying nephew." She crossed her arms. "I've never been to school either you know. The Mafia and elders of Meteor City taught me everything. But now you've took the money from me, be aware that I will haunt you..." She left for the door. "Forever."

She closed the rotten door behind her. Her job was done now, all she had to do was enjoy the despair she caused for her sister. She called Machi. "Ahh, Machi, you can let the nen threads go now."

"Don't just order me around." Machi muttered.

"Sorry, sorry," Mizutsuki laughed. "Are there any things you guys wanna eat? I'll go to the convenient store on the way back."

"Hold on." There was a few seconds of silence and screaming noises in the background. "Bring me some orange juice and Uvo wants BBQ flavored chips. Paku wants a salad and Coltopi wants chocolate. Phinks wants beer and so does Nobunaga. Danchou and Franklin wants black coffee. Bring Shalnark some bubble gum too."

"Ok, got it." Mizutsuki turned off her phone. Speaking of it, she hadn't got her beer yet either. She might as well treat herself to it.

* * *

Kagami glared at his mother. "Mom, why?" He wailed. "Why would you make a deal with her? She must be lying!"

"No, she wouldn't lie." Hannah mumbled. "All she wants is to see me desperate and frustrated. If she gave me a fake check, she wouldn't be able to see me frustrated."

Kagami snatched the check away. "I wouldn't be happy if our wealth is given to us from a mass murderer. I'm giving it back!"

"Kagami!" Hannah cried.

Kagami stormed out onto the streets, forgetting the pain of his broken arm. His eyes darted around for the infamous criminal that was his aunt. The echo of footsteps brought him into a small alleyway Mizutsuki walked through seconds ago. "Hey you!" He screamed.

The shadow on the wall stopped and looked back. Kagami sprinted towards the owner of the shadow. Mizutsuki was eating a bag of chips and drinking a can of beer. She held a plastic bag from the convenience store. "What, brat...? Hic..."

Kagami stomped up to her and shoved the check into the plastic bag. "We don't need it." He said coldly.

Mizutsuki looked at the check in the convenience store bag, then looked at Kagami. "There, there, Blacky." She knelt down and ruffled Kagami's hair. "It's late now, mommy would be mad... Hic..."

Kagami swatted her hand away. "We don't need help from a mass murderer!" He cried. "And I'm not Blacky! I'm Kagami, you know that!"

"Wha...? Hic..." In Mizutsuki's blurred vision, Kagami seemed like a black blob due to the lighting and filth on his face. "Are you sure you're not Blacky? Hic." She pinched the cheeks of Kagami and pulled.

"Ack-ow-ow-ow-ow!" Kagami screamed. "Don't play with my cheeks!"

Mizutsuki scowled. "Blackies these days, do they have no manners?" She wiped Kagami's face roughly with her sleeve. All Kagami felt was the pain that his face muscles were being pushed around. "Ack! STOP!"

"Bad Blacky..." Mizutsuki muttered. "You're making the whole world look black..."

"YOU'RE FREAKING DRUNK!"

"Wha? No, I'm not drunk... Hic..." Mizutsuki giggled. "Good Blacky, now you look like a Greyie. If you take a bath you might just turn into a Whitey! Hic..."

"You don't even know what you're saying! I'm being serious here!"

Mizutsuki squinted. Kagami thought that she was finally gaining some sense. "No, I'm pretty sure you're a Greyie now."

Giant facepalm.

"Anyways, we do not need your help. We will be fine by ourselves. So stay away from us."

Mizutsuki thought about it. "Ah!" She exclaimed and dug the check out of her back. "You stuffed this into my bag!" She handed it back to him. "Be careful of dropping things Greyie." Her smile was warm and sincere, almost like Hannah's. Kagami didn't think that smiling was possible to her.

"I-I don't need it!" He cried.

Mizutsuki shoved a handful of chips into his mouth. "There, there, don't complain Greyie!" She laughed. "Be a good boy and go back to mommy. Your mommy must be worried."

"Stop saying nonsense!"

Mizutsuki frowned. "What? You are thirsty? I only have beer though... Oh whatever!" She dumped the can of beer down Kagami's throat, almost choking him. "Alright! Your weird paper isn't thirsty anymore!"

Kagami felt dizzy (Now we know that being a bad drinker runs in the family.) "No... Stop... Get back here." He had swallowed the alcohol in order to prevent choking; since he was a child, the alcohol affected him quicker than it would affect adults. In blurred vision, he walked Mizutsuki skip away, singing a familiar tune. (_"HE'S MY BEST FRIEND BEST OF ALL BEST FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE A BEST FRIEND TOO?"_)

* * *

About thirty minutes later, another person walked across this alleyway and this unconscious child. It was Pariston in a rather bad mood.

_What is a child doing here? _He thought and flipped the child around. He paused and examined the child's features. "Hmm... He looks like Mizutsuki... Or maybe he looks like Hannah?" He had a fair guess of who this child is. But was rather confused at which person Kagami looked like more.

"Anyways, he'll catch a cold here. Better bring him back." Pariston said with an easy smile and lifted the child off the ground.

He might have found another toy to play with.

* * *

"What the heck? Mizu! Get off me!" Machi screamed. Mizutsuki clung on to Machi like an koala. "Machi you're being so mean to the maknae!" She pouted.

"YOU ARE TALLER THAN ME, I CAN'T CARRY YOU!"

"But you have a better arm wrestling rank!"

Uvogin laughed. "This is a rather late dinner show, but whatever, we'll take it."

"Congrats Machi." Feitan nodded while reading his book. "You have no idea how many times that happened to me..."

Mizutsuki steered Machi to face Feitan. She pointed a finger at him; her face was red from alcohol. "Feitan you're a MEANIE!" She screamed.

Nobunaga, Bonolenov, and Phinks laughed. "Although she's drunk, she's still being honest."

"How many cans did she drink?" Franklin asked.

"One and a half." Nobunaga replied.

Shalnark smiled. "No matter how much time passes, some things never change."

"Was that supposed to be something deep?"

"Nah, I was just kidding."

"Good, otherwise I would have snapped your neck." Phinks facepalmed.

"WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THOSE GET HER OFF ME!" Machi snapped. It took three of the other members to pull a drunk Mizutsuki off her.

Mizutsuki sat weeping on the ground. "Machi! I thought that we were friends!"

"We are, but I won't piggyback you."

"You're all meanies!"

**_Whack!_**

Everyone stared at Feitan, who had hit her in the back of the neck with one of his thicker books. "This is what I do when she goes crazy." He said calmly. "She'd have a sore neck for the next three days, but it's useful."

"Oh."

* * *

"Why isn't Kagami back yet?" Hannah mumbled. She didn't even notice that she was mumbling. She was frozen in fear. Kagami had snatched the check away from her and went after her evil twin sister.

There were a few possibilities about his late return; none of them seemed very bright. Maybe some townspeople had kidnapped him. Or maybe Mizutsuki had took him back to their hideout again. The first option seemed better than the second. It was ironic that there'd be a day where something would seem worse than that.

Hannah stood up abruptly and stormed out of the house. It must be her sister that took her son away! She didn't want to go back to Genei Ryodan's hideout, but it was for Kagami. She had to go.

"Open the door!" She screamed and pounded on the rotten door of the abandoned building. The building was all the way in the countryside, surrounded by farms and fields. It was okay to scream.

After a few pounds, the door creaked open and the samurai poked his head out. "What the heck..." He muttered. "It's like two a.m. now you know. We let you go, why are you back?"

"I want my son back!" She said angrily with a glare.

"Pfft, that's a really bad glare you know. Like a little kitten trying to be a tiger." He pinched her face jokingly and Hannah slapped it away.

"Ahaha, you are much gentler than Mizu. She'd kick me in the jaw and break my sword for that."

"I don't care about Mizutsuki, I just want my son back."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Let me see Mizutsuki."

"That'd be a bit of problem." Another voice said and Shalnark pushed Nobunaga aside. "She's asleep now, and she's not a morning person."

"I don't care if she's a morning person or not. Let me talk to her!"

"We're not worried about you godammit! We're worried about ourselves!" Nobunaga muttered. "Feitan hit her unconscious with a book. When she wakes up, she's gonna have a big fight with Feitan. We don't wanna get caught in their fight!"

"Like I care!" Hannah screamed and pushed pass them, charging into the dimly lit hideout. The members who were awake stared at her in surprise.

"Why are you here?" Phinks snapped.

Machi narrowed her eyes and the nen threads appeared, laced between her fingers. "We don't want any business with you, leave before we decide to kill you. We will keep this a secret to Mizutsuki."

"I don't want any business with you guys either!" Hannah snapped. She looked around for Mizutsuki and found her napping in the corner.

She stormed up to her and grabbed her by the collar. "Mizutsuki! Wake up!" She screamed.

Mizutsuki stirred. "Shut the fuck up, Feitan..." She muttered. "I'm tired dealing with crap already... The world can go fuck itself..."

"WAKE UP!" Hannah screamed again. This time Mizutsuki opened her eyes. "What?"

"Where is Kagami?" Hannah demanded.

"Kagami?" Mizutsuki frowned. "Blackie? Greyie? Whitey? Rainbow Ponies? _What_?"

"She's drunk." Franklin said helpfully.

"Drunk?" Hannah exclaimed. "Wake up godammit! Where did you hide my son?" She slapped Mizutsuki across the face. The loud sound of the slap echoed throughout the hideout. Everyone stared at her, and Mizutsuki seemed to wake up as well. She stared at Hannah for a few seconds before snapping back to reality.

In a flash she had pinned her sister to the ground and a scowl settled on her face. "I thought that I was dreaming, but I'm not!" She laughed. "Why are you here? Little sister? Do you miss your older sister so much?"

"Like hell!" Hannah cried. She was so desperate she didn't think much about what she said anymore. "Give me back my son! He went after you right? Where did you take him?"

"What...?" Mizutsuki frowned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't act so innocent! I know that you did it!"

"Have you seen the brat anywhere?" Nobunaga asked Uvogin. "I don't remember seeing him when Mizutsuki came back."

"Neither do I." Uvogin shrugged.

"Well listen here, stupid little sister." Mizutsuki pressed Hannah's head into the dirt. "There are different types of evil, and unfortunately, we are the worst type of evil. We kill, we raid and we torture, but fortunately, we do not kidnap. Take a hundred steps back, even if we _did_ kidnap some brat. It would not be that brat. We have standards too, thank you very much."

"We'd choose a wealthier kid." Pakunoda supported. "Not some brat from a slum."

"Pfft, do you think that you're so special to me that I'd kidnap your kid?" Mizutsuki tugged on Hannah's hair. "Let me say this again: I could care less for you. I'll let you go again this time, but don't let me see you again. The next time I see you, I'll kill you."

Hannah was near to tears. "Then tell me..." She gritted her teeth. "Did you see Kagami?"

"Maybe." Mizutsuki smiled. "Would you believe me anyways?"

"Compared to the townspeople that'd try to make fun of us in the dirtiest ways, you guys don't do those kind of stuff..." Hannah muttered. "In ways, yes... Even evil has standards, right?"

"That sentence shouldn't be used that way, but whatever." Franklin said. "We do not do things that doesn't give us benefits."

Hannah turned to look at Mizutsuki. "Tell me, have you seen him?"

Mizutsuki glanced at Chrollo, who nodded. "Maybe. As I've said, I was drunk. I think that he tried to give me back the check but I didn't take it. I can't remember the rest." She got off her. "Get out of my sight, _now_."

Hannah stood up wobbly, after shooting all of them a glare she walked out.

Just before she closed the door, Mizutsuki called. "Check the second alleyway branching from the third avenue."

Hannah slammed the door shut.

Feitan glanced at Mizutsuki. "Were you serious about that clue?"

"I don't know, I was drunk. Maybe it was the fifth avenue? Now thinking of it, Feitan, I have some unsolved issues with you..." She cracked her knuckles. "You dare knock me out with a book..!?"

* * *

**Okay, I wanted to express Mizu's weird way of love. She doesn't even realize it, but she wants to help her sister.**** Mizutsuki is still human, she still has feelings; she is not like a certain guard dog that a certain family of assassins own. That's**** why she gave her the check (under the name of Mental Torture, that is.). And on Hannah's side, she had to face a difficult situation. If she took the check, she'll regret for the rest of her life that she had to get help from a criminal. But if she didn't take it, she'll regret that why didn't she take it; if she had took it, Kagami would have received proper education and ate full meals everyday. It's a hard decision once you put yourself in her shoes.**

**(I enjoyed writing Mizutsuki being drunk, that's always fun. I trust you to know the '_Best Friend Song_' by Toy Box right? XD. Tell me you do...)**

**Hannah goes to the hideout and demands Mizutsuki for her son; which of course, Mizutsuki has no idea about. Kagami is with Pariston now, what will happen then?**

**NEXT CHAPTER: STARRING PARISTON HILL AND KAGAMI *applause, applause***

**And OMG SO MANY REVIEWS! LETS MAKE IT A HUNDRED BABEHHHHH!**


	42. Chapter 42

Kagami opened his eyes and found himself lying on a soft bed. His whole body felt refreshed and warm.

Hold on, this wasn't his bed.

With a giant gasp he sat up. The blonde man sitting at the table snapped his book shut. "Hello! Kagami-kun." He smiled.

Kagami blinked and felt a headache. "Wha... Who are you? Where am I?"

"Sorry for the late introduction, I am Pariston Hill." Pariston held out his hand.

"Pariston Hill?" Kagami echoed. His eyes widened. "The Pariston Hill Mizutsuki is looking for?" He was so shocked he forgot to shake his hand.

Pariston nodded, taking back his hand. "Indeed, I met with her a few hours ago. I must say, you have an amusing aunt."

Kagami looked away. "Where's my mother?" He asked.

"Ehh..." Pariston scratched his neck. "I looked at your house, she wasn't there. I couldn't find her either."

Kagami gritted his teeth and pounded his fist on the bedside table. "They must have kidnapped her!" He screamed. "You can never trust someone like them!" Hate burned in his eyes.

Pariston looked amused. "Do you really hate Mizutsuki that much?" He asked.

"Of course!"

"Really? I quite like her though, not in the romantic way. She's a fun person to be around with."

Kagami stared at Pariston in disbelief; perhaps this man is even more insane than those from the Genei Ryodan. "How come?" He asked tentatively.

"You're young, you won't understand anyways." Pariston said with a smile and tossed Kagami an apple. "I'll apologize that those aren't sweet apples, it isn't apple season yet. Mizu could alter pH though, so the apples she eat would always be sweet."

"Doesn't matter, I don't want to eat things she touched before either." Kagami bit into the apple. It wasn't sweet, but it was one of the richest foods he had eaten in his life.

"So how much do you hate Mizu-chan?" Pariston asked.

"To the point that I want her dead." Kagami replied instantly; the apple was squished under his tiny fist. His tone and body trembled in anger. "She and my mother are twins, why are they so different?"

"Oh no, they are not so different if you ask me." Pariston said. "Mizu can love, just that the people she love are the members of the Ryodan. And that she is too stubborn to admit it." (And she expresses her love for them through violence.)

"It's weird. It's irrational."

"Irrational is how you define the Genei Ryodan."

"That is true." Kagami took a bite of the apple. "But they harmed my mother. I would never forgive them! Especially her!"

Pariston's smile was pleasant, but it was unreadable. No one could ever understand the meanings behind his smiles. "You are saying that you want to kill her? I don't want to say this, but it is practically impossible for you to become powerful enough to beat her."

"I will one day." He said. "Mr. Hill! Can you teach me that Nen thing? You must be good at it right?"

Pariston shook his head. "Nah, I've made a deal with her not to interfere with her business. And to be honest, I'm only on the upwind because she doesn't know my abilities. Once she knows it, we would be fairly equal matched."

"Boo." Kagami stuck out his tongue.

Pariston paused then went on thoughtfully. "Actually, there aren't much people on Earth that can defeat her. Less than a hundred maybe? But I doubt that you can find any one of them to teach you... Actually, there is one that might help you with it."

Kagami's eyes widened. "Really? Who?"

"A family of Assassins called the Zoldycks. They can't train you, but they can kill her for you."

"Sounds pricy."

"It is expensive to hire them indeed." Pariston mused. "But I can help you on that, if you make a deal with me, I'll lend you some money and I won't ask you to pay me back."

Kagami stared at him cautiously. "What deal?"

"It is…"

* * *

Hannah ran everywhere searching for Kagami. She carpet searched the whole third avenue but she couldn't find a trace of her son. In the end, she stumbled back home, sulking. She didn't think that it was the Genei Ryodan who did this, but then, who? All she could think of was the townspeople.

"Oh god…" She wept. "What should I do?"

She could never fight with those townspeople on her own. And she was too shy to find Pariston again. All she could think of was Genei Ryodan that could fight on equal terms with the townspeople. But she didn't want to ask them. Mizutsuki said that she'd kill her too if she sees her again.

Hannah wiped a drop of tear from her eyes. "My life is a disaster…" She mumbled.

After a few more minutes of crying, she decided to go to bed. _Everything will be better in the morning,_ she promised herself.

* * *

The sun rose and the weak beams of light shone into the hideout. Mizutsuki stirred and blocked her eyes away from the sun. Machi was lying on her lap, using her jacket as a blanket. Everyone inside the hideout was asleep apart from Coltopi and Bonolenov.

"Morning…" She yawned and patted Machi's head. Machi grabbed her hand but didn't wake up; she didn't let down her guard even while sleeping.

"Morning Mizu." Bonolenov said.

"Do you think that Machi would get mad if I doodled on her face?" Mizutsuki asked.

Coltopi raised an eyebrow (Not that anyone could actually see his face). "Do you want us to take that question seriously?"

"Ahaha, no." Mizutsuki laughed. "Pity, I kinda wanted to doodle on everyone's face."

"They'd kill you." A voice suddenly said.

Mizutsuki looked down, Machi was awake. "Oh hey Machi." She said.

"Hey." Machi sat up and cracked her neck. "Your lap was a terrible pillow." She said. "Every time I turn I'd hear your knives clinking."

"Then why did you use me as a pillow?" Mizutsuki muttered.

"I thought that it would be comfortable. It's too bony for a pillow too actually."

"Terrible answer." Mizutsuki stood up and stretched. "It's about time we leave this place right?" She said. "We were delayed a bit because of the brat and his mom. But the problem's settled now. I'mma go out for a morning jog. Wanna come?"

"I'll pass." Machi shook her head. "If you happen to run by the convenient store again, get me apple juice, and…"

"Franklin, Danchou, Feitan and Phinks would want coffee. Pakunoda needs a salad, and Shalnark needs a tuna sandwich. I know that much." She grinned. "See ya!"

* * *

Hannah opened her eyes.

Kagami wasn't back.

She closed her eyes and opened them again.

Kagami still wasn't back.

Hannah was all alone in the small house. Her gaze was empty; her only son, her reason to live, was gone. Where was he? Where did Kagami go? Who would kidnap him apart from the Genei Ryodan? The townspeople?

She snorted lightly. The townspeople would probably beat him up. They wouldn't expect money from her, they'd expect sex. She'd have to sell her own body in order to get Kagami back safely.

Making up her mind that she'll do anything to bring her child back, she got up and dressed.

After ten minutes she left the house and walked onto the streets. It was still in the early mornings, so not much people were up yet. Not even those delinquents and druggies that spent their nights outside hitting up on girls.

Hannah jogged around, searching around for any signs of her son. She never thought that there'd be a day where she wanted to get picked up by those mean townspeople.

She jogged by a park and she heard the sound of an explosion. Her legs screeched to a halt and she stood there panting, staring into the park. She was nervous to go in there, but she knew that something must have happened. After taking a deep breath she walked into the park.

* * *

_(minutes ago)_

Mizutsuki hummed lightly as she pressed the button for the sports drink on the vending machine. She didn't buy anything for herself at the convenience store and she figured that Machi would probably be pissed if she drank her apple juice.

The vending machine didn't respond.

She raised an eyebrow slightly. Lightly she kicked the machine in the side.

The vending machine still didn't respond.

Now her eye was twitching; did the vending machine seriously just eat her 500 Jennies? Having a bad feeling she kicked the machine again, now adding more force.

A rock would have more life than this vending machine.

"GAH!" Mizutsuki screamed in irritation and kicked the machine with full force. A dent was made in the side. The machine sprang to life and smoke rose, smelling burnt. Its buttons lighted on and off; there was a rumbling noise before all the drinks it held tumbled out onto the ground.

Mizutsuki accidently stepped on one of the cans and slipped, landing on her bottom. She stared at the mess she just created in some sort of confused awe.

"Hold on, how am I supposed to take care of this?" She muttered as she stood up, rubbing her sore bottom. About fifty drinks had fallen out in total, all of different flavors. She picked up a sports drink and drank._ I couldn't carry all of it back, but leaving these here would be a waste…_

"Mizutsuki?" Came a familiar voice. Mizutsuki choked on her drink and coughed.

Hannah walked over tentatively. "Are you… alright?"

Mizutsuki shot her a glare which made her cringe. _Do I LOOK alright?_

"Oh…" Hannah reached out a hand and lightly patted Mizutsuki on the back.

After a few minutes, Mizutsuki finally got her trachea cleaned out and she took a deep breath. "What are you doing here? Little sister?" She deadpanned. "Didn't I say that I'll kill you the next time I see you?"

"You owe me once; if I hadn't patted your back you would have died of choking. I'm looking for Kagami. He didn't come home last night."

"Oh." Mizutsuki looked unconcerned yet a little annoyed. _I've never seen someone choke to death on sports drink before… _She thought sourly.

Hannah fidgeted a long time before she spoke again. "Do you really not know where he is?" She asked.

"As I've said, I have nothing to do with this." Mizutsuki muttered.

Hannah's glorious beams of motherly love that radiated from her back made Mizutsuki want to melt. She looked like a loving saint and should have marble statues of her made and put in churches. A tear slid down the little sister's pale white cheeks. "I-I don't know what I would do without him…" She wept. "Please Mizutsuki, help me!" She grabbed Mizutsuki's hoodie and shook her furiously.

Despite being a ruthless killer, Mizutsuki panicked; having your little twin sister cry in front of you asking for help is just… wrong. She pushed her away. "Hey-hey-hey!" She cried. "Don't cry!"

Hannah was now crying out loud and she buried her face into her hands. "Mizutsuki! Please!" She wailed. "Those townspeople must have kidnapped him! They're beating him up now as we speak! Help me save him!"

Mizutsuki's eye twitched. "What do I look like?" She exclaimed. "A nice lady that would donate money to the poor? Don't be ridiculous, that's your problem, I'm not getting involved. Now stop crying!"

"B-But you're my older sister right?" Hannah cried and grabbed Mizutsuki yet again. "You should help me! Please! I'll do anything; just help me get Kagami back!"

"NO!" Mizutsuki screamed. "We're leaving today; I don't have time to deal with crap like this."

Hannah sniffed. "Mizutsuki… please…" She whimpered. "You're the only one that can help me. I'm desperate; those townspeople are going to keep beating up my child until I show up and have sex with them. Please; I know you, it's just killing people right? It's no big deal for you."

Mizutsuki paused and a strange expression crossed her face, her eyes now shone in amusement. "My, my… little sister, I never thought that I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. To think that you were acting all nice and harmless, now you're saying that people can die if it was for your son?" A sadistic grin crept onto her lips.

Hannah gasped in horror. "N-NO! I-I didn't mean it that way! I just want to save Kagami; I don't want to kill anyone…"

"That's not the same as what you said just now." Mizutsuki laughed. _"It's just killing people right? It's no big deal for you."_ Being twins, it was easy for her to mimic Hannah's voice and tone. "I knew it; you are my twin after all. Don't just act so harmless now Hannah, you're evil deep down inside and you know it."

Hannah gasped in horror. "No."

Mizutsuki grabbed Hannah's wrist, the demonic smile was terrifying. She was enjoying the horrified expression on Hannah's face. "Sure, I'll help you. But in respond, you have to admit that you're just an evil person pretending to be good, a hypocrite."

Hannah gulped and Mizutsuki gestured at the canned drinks scattered around them. "But before that, can you help me with these cans?"

* * *

After a long time of thinking, Kagami agreed to the terms and conditions Pariston had given him.

* * *

**Okay, this is awkward... only one review last chapter... huh... I guess that getting a hundred reviews is harder than I thought. Personally, I really liked the last chapter but it seems like you guys didn't like it.**

**Is the story going okay then? (Say "It's going fine"). The story is almost ending and I want some support to write the sequel *wink*.**

**REVIEW OR ELSE**


	43. Chapter 43

Hannah wasn't sure to thank Mizutsuki or not. Her feelings were tangled up as she held the mountain of cans in her arms. She followed Mizutsuki back to the Genei Ryodan's hideout. "A-Are you sure that your friends won't kill me?" She stammered.

"They won't." Mizutsuki promised. "As long as I'm with you. That brat has the potential to become a good nen user. Maybe one day he would join us!"

"Kagami would never!" Hannah gasped in horror.

"Yeah-yeah." Mizutsuki waved her sentence off. "He'd become a goodie-goodie blacklist Hunter and arrest us all; I could care less. I'm more interested in you."

"You're a terrible sister."

"That's the best compliment an evil older sister could ever receive."

The two of them traveled onto a smaller road. The small road was not like the dangerous alleyways they're afraid to walk at night, there was still sunlight. But it was damp and the smell of danger overflowed. Delinquents and punks looked up at them as they passed. Mizutsuki sighed. "Why is this town so fucked up anyways?" She asked. "The townspeople pick on the poor, these little shits hang around everywhere every day."

"Mizutsuki!" Hannah wailed. "Don't say it so loud!"

"What?" Mizutsuki whined. "I'm just stating the truth. Don't even think of correcting me, younger one."

"I might be older than you for all we know..."

"Until we get proof (which we'll probably never get), I'm the older one."

"But still, don't insult them so loudly! You might be strong, but even you couldn't deal with ten people at once right? There're like more than twenty people here!"

Mizutsuki stopped in her tracks and Hannah bumped into her. "Mizutsuki...?"

"Just how much did you underestimate me...?" Mizutsuki muttered.

"I'm saying this for your own good!"

"Pfft, that's the funniest joke I've heard in a long time." She took a deep breath and raised her voice. "OY! LITTLE PUNKS! YOU GUYS ARE USELESS SHITS WHO COULDNT EVEN FIND A DECENT JOB AND YOU NEED TO GANG UP THIRTY PEOPLE JUST TO BEAT UP ONE GIRL!"

Hannah's eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped. "Mizutsuki what are you doing?" She gasped. "You'll die!"

"No I won't."

"Say that you can finish them all, you'll still get injured!"

"No I won't."

"Their friends will get their revenge from me! Because they'll mistake me for you and you'll be at the other side of the planet when that happens!"

"No, that will not happen." Mizutsuki said calmly and let the drink cans drop to the ground. "Because they won't even be alive after we walk through this street. If you're afraid of blood, I suggest that you cover your eyes. Or you can hide in a trash can if you want. That'll be safer."

"No! We must run right now!" She grabbed Mizutsuki's hand.

Mizutsuki shook it off. "Don't make me dump you into one." She said. "Just watch quietly will you?"

Hannah blinked. One second she was standing on the ground with Mizutsuki beside her, the next second she was sitting on the windowsill of a deserted building. She had no idea how Mizutsuki was able to transport her there in such a short period of time. She watched anxiously as her evil twin sister gets surrounded by the punks.

"Yo little bitch." One guy grunted. "You have some guts there, but you'll be sorry that you spoke to us like that..."

"Shut your traps." Mizutsuki crossed her arms. "Come at me morons, if you guys can defeat me I'll do whatever you guys tell me to do."

From on top Hannah could see that Mizutsuki was terribly outnumbered. "Stop!" She cried.

"Heh… your twin is smarter than you." Another guy cracked his knuckles. "I wonder what I should ask of you..."

Mizutsuki got into battle position. "Think of it after you defeated me." She said.

Within a second, blood splattered the walls. Everyone gasped, including Hannah. She was observing the whole thing from a brilliant angle but she didn't see Mizutsuki beheading the guy. Just how fast could she be?

Mizutsuki stood on top of a wooden crate, looking bored. Her hoodie was spotless but her right hand was soaked in blood. "C'mon, don't disappoint me."

"You cheated! We didn't even say 'start' yet!"

"Are you retarded? There is no such thing as 'cheating' in a life and death battle. It doesn't matter as long as you lived." She gathered aura on her palms, transmuting them into acid. "Let us learn how to count!" She exclaimed. "I just killed one person, I wonder how many are left?"

"G-GET HER!"

Mizutsuki jumped off her stand and grabbed a man's face. "Two is for two morons~" She sang.

A guy sneaked up on her back and tried to whack her in the head with a broken wine bottle. She dodged it gracefully and grabbed his throat; as she melted the throat she threw the man towards three other people charging them. "Meltdowner!" She exclaimed and gave the person on the top a pat. The four people instantly melted into a puddle of blood and meat-ish goo. "Three is for three useless shits~ Four is for four bastards~ Five is for five idiots~" She hummed.

"That doesn't even rhyme!" Hannah cried.

"Shut up! It's a free verse!"

A man roared. "Well it's the crappiest free verse I've ever heard!"

Mizutsuki punched the guy in the face and kicked him between the legs. As the man went down in pain she stabbed a knife through his heart. "Six is for six retards~"

Hannah gulped; Mizutsuki was killing the people with amazing speed, all the while singing her retarded song. She had the same hereditary material as her, why was she so weak?

"Thirty-nine is for thirty nine... Crap I'm out of words." Mizutsuki frowned. "Well, well, I guess that I'll just end the song here." She wiped the blood off her hands with a handkerchief. "I've killed them all apparently. It was easier than I thought."

Hannah was scared and awed at the same time. Mizutsuki wasn't panting at all even though she just killed thirty seven people. She stared at the sea of blood in awe and mute horror. She didn't know what to say; how could Mizutsuki kill people so easily? Why?

Mizutsuki looked up at the windowsill she was sitting on. "Oy! You can come down now!"

Hannah didn't budge, she continued staring.

"Huh? Oh yeah right, you can't get down by yourself, how silly of me…" Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "Hold on for a sec okay? I'll get you down in a minute…"

The window behind Hannah was suddenly thrown open and a man appeared. He got Hannah in a headlock and another pointed a gun at her temple. The juice cans Hannah was holding tumbled to the ground. Mizutsuki dodged. "The heck…" She muttered. "There's more?"

The man holding Hannah laughed. "If you don't want your twin to die, surrender right now!"

It was Mizutsuki's turn to stare.

"Oy! Did you hear me? I said; _if you don't want your sister to die, surrender right now!_"

"M-Mizutsuki…" Hannah gasped for air.

Mizutsuki sighed heavily and knelt down, picking up two little pebbles. "You guys could have chosen and easier way to die…" She muttered.

"DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT WE JUST SAID?" The two men cried.

"Yes, yes, you'll kill her if I don't surrender blah-blah-blah." Mizutsuki rolled her eyes. "Sister dear, can you please stop squirming? I might hit you."

The two men narrowed their eyes and Hannah stared at Mizutsuki in disbelief. What was she going to do with those two pebbles?

"I've never tried this before either, but I've seen Phinks and Uvo do it a few times. Hope that they won't get mad at me for stealing their moves." Mizutsuki gathered the aura onto her fingertips and wrapped around the pebble. Phinks and Uvogin; the two members with the greatest strengths in the Ryodan were able to throw rocks with the penetrating power of a bullet. Her strength was nothing compared to theirs, but she knew that it was still far greater than normal people. She threw the tiny stone at the man pointing a gun.

The pebble smashed into the skull of the man and Hannah screamed. The man holding her jumped away. "What the hell?" He screamed.

"There's one more." Mizutsuki announced and threw the pebble. It hit the guy in the forehead as well and he collapsed.

Hannah stared at the sight in mute horror. She collapsed against the window and forced herself to swallow the gastric juice.

"Hmm, the effect was better than I thought." Mizutsuki was suddenly beside her. "But nothing compared to Phinks and Uvo though."

Hannah looked up at her twin sister. Mizutsuki was crossing her arms with a cocky grin. Her whole stance was casual, like killing people was no big deal. Like she was already used to it, like it was part of an everyday, usual life. A ruthless, cocky, and cold hearted individual she was, though at times she may show mercy.

"Sis, can you stand?" Mizutsuki glanced at Hannah.

Hannah could see it in her eyes. That dark amusement she would never understand; the attitude which views everything as a game. "Why can you do this?" She asked shakily. "How can you _stand_ doing this? Just how twisted are you?"

"You ask how twisted am I?" Mizutsuki echoed. "I'm not sure either."

"What do you mean by _I'm not sure?_" Hannah exclaimed. "You just killed forty-one people; don't you feel anything like guilt? Don't you ever get scared killing others? The warm blood splattering, the souls being destroyed, don't you ever think of the aftermath while doing this?"

"What aftermath?"

"Their family! Maybe they have parents, wives, or children that may cry for them! Don't you ever think about their feelings?" Hannah sniffed. "Like if I lose Kagami right now, I wouldn't know what to do! Have you never lost someone important to you? Besides, you only did this massacre just to show off your strength in front of me right?"

Mizutsuki's expression turned one shade darker. "So _what_?" She deadpanned. "I killed a bunch of people; they'll die in the end anyways, it's not like I destroyed their path of immortality." She rolled her eyes. "_Have I ever lost someone important_ you say? Why yes, yes I have. If it is '_Have I lost __**to**__ someone important_?' I've lost to Pariston just yesterday (The one that lost was my dignity); and I suppose that he's fairly important, being the vice chairman of the hunter association."

Hannah's jaw dropped. _Mr. Hill is the vice chairman of the Hunter's Association? _"Don't just change the meaning of my sentence!"

Mizutsuki waved her off. "Pffft… Love, bonds, friendship, those are meaningless things. Just think of it! Why did mommy and daddy throw me away and not you? Apparently if they had to choose, they _had_ _to_ choose me."

Hannah was about to say that she was wrong when Mizutsuki silenced her. She continued on. "Let me guess, you're about to say that they loved me as much as they loved you, and they threw me away because the situation made them? Don't be ridiculous. If they loved us equally, they would have kept both of us and decide that they will never abandon either. Or they would have thrown both of us away to be equal."

Hannah stared at her. "Why are you such a cruel person?" She demanded. "You're saying that bonds and friendship are meaningless as well? Then what about the Genei Ryodan you love so much?"

"We're different." Mizutsuki replied calmly. "We are not just friends; we are comrades who've been through countless bloody battles together. Our lives depend on each other whether we like it or not. Our relationships exist on a deeper level than normal people and the bonds of Ryūseigai are not the same as normal bonds." She turned away. "We were all abandoned by our parents, what do you _think_?"

"Even so, killing is wrong! Much less killing for such a stupid cause! "

"Killing is part of my life. Death is the solution to everything. If you want to save your son without killing people, ask someone else." Mizutsuki laughed dryly. "But didn't you say that '_it's just killing people right? It's no big deal for you_.' It's too late to change your mind though, sister."

Hannah was speechless. But in that split second, she understood why their parents had chosen to abandon Mizutsuki instead of herself. They knew that Mizutsuki had a twisted mind the second she was born. She was born a twisted psychopath from the start, that's why they chose to abandon her.

* * *

"What the hell Mizutsuki!" Phinks whined. "You took four hours to go for a walk and in the end you didn't bring us our breakfast from the convenience store? Fine I'll go by myself."

Mizutsuki laughed sheepishly. "Aww don't be mad Phinks."

"How can I not be mad?" Phinks muttered. "More importantly, why is your saint-like twin hiding behind you?

Mizutsuki glanced at Hannah who was cowering behind her. If Hannah had to choose, she would still hid behind this psychopath of a sister than standing outside shaking. "Oh, she's no saint, although she acts like one." Mizutsuki smiled. "I've finally discovered her potential of becoming an evil person. Plus her son had been kidnapped and she asked me to kill the townspeople for her."

Shalnark sighed. "Mizu, we're leaving _today_!"

"Let's just ignore her and leave her here." Feitan said without looking up from his book. "Besides, you see that crazy spark of sadism in her eyes? Nothing good can happen once that spark appears."

"What do you mean?"

"It happened three times while I was with her. The first time it happened, a plane crashed into a building. The second time it happened, there was a poison gas leak in the center of the city subway and they had to evacuate 10000 people. The third time it happened, there was a landslide that buried the whole town beneath it."

"Ermm… Machi? What do you think will happen this time?" Shalnark asked. "Your intuitions are often right."

Machi frowned and studied the twins. "Can I say what I really think?" She asked.

"Go ahead." Mizutsuki shrugged.

"You'll die."

* * *

"Goodbye Mr. Hill." Kagami waved.

Pariston smiled and waved back. "Goodbye, Kagami-kun! Just say me name and Mizu-chan will come for sure."

* * *

**I FINALLY GOT FANART, YESSS... **

**I wanted to post this chapter earlier but guess what? One project on Platypuses and two tests are waiting for me plus I'm editing my original work of fiction (Would you guys read it if I posted it online? *puppy-eyes*). And while I was pulling weeds in the front yard today I met two of my classmates walking thier dogs. Gosh that was embarrassing...**

**I'm kinda lazy today so I'm going to end the author note here ˊ_ˋ**

**Review!**

**(PS: I drew a picture of Mizutsuki and Hannah together, it's link is on my profile! I was kinda lazy drawing it so yeah..)**


	44. Chapter 44

"Well sorry Machi, this is going to be the first time where your intuitions aren't correct." Mizutsuki simply laughed it off. "That's all I'm gonna say. Where's Danchou?"

"Out on a walk." Nobunaga replied.

"Well tell Danchou that I'll catch up later. Watch the news carefully, if you see the news of a whole town massacred and set on fire; the cause would probably be me."

Bonolenov laughed dryly. "Like we don't know that already."

"Is this really necessary?" Hannah whimpered. "I just asked you to look for my child..."

"That's your sister for you." Feitan said in a monotone. He still didn't look up from his book. "Fucking psychopath bitch..."

Mizutsuki's expression darkened. "Feitan!"

"AHH LET'S GO LET'S GO!" Hannah dragged her sister out of the hideout.

* * *

Mizutsuki cursed under her breath and Hannah was afraid that she'd kill her instead to lash out her anger. "Umm, Mizutsuki...?"

"What?"

"Are you mad?"

"At what?" Her expression was dark as she said this.

"Ekk... Umm, at me maybe?"

Mizutsuki snorted. "Why would I be mad at you sis? I'm just frustrated."

"At Mr. Feitan?"

Mizutsuki stared at her mystified. "No, how did Feitan get into this conversation?"

"Because you started acting weird after you talked with him."

"No, it's not that." Mizutsuki sighed. "Truth to be told, you and your brat remind me of a certain victim I killed before."

Hannah was surprised. "You remember people you killed?" She asked.

Mizutsuki shrugged. "More or less, if they make a very deep impression, I'll never forget them even if I tried."

"Who did you remember?"

"A Kurta brat called Pairo." She answered in a monotone. "He was the first one ever to openly demand my reasons for killing. He couldn't have been much older than your Kagami-chan. Maybe eight?" She added the _chan_ with a snort. "Plus he was the only person without nen abilities that ever harmed me."

Hannah was shocked. A child no older than her own son was able to harm this monster?

"The brat cut off my arm." Mizutsuki continued on. She pulled down her collar to reveal a faint scar by her shoulder. "I don't think that I could ever forget that kid and the fire in his eyes."

It was weird hearing things from Mizutsuki; much less things from her past. But somehow it felt refreshing. So she still beared human emotions.

"If we didn't meet under those conditions, I would have treated him to ice cream." Mizutsuki sighed. "I liked that kid. He had the guts. Don't you think that it's funny how people can use strength much greater than usual when their loved ones are in danger?"

"No it's not." Hannah said firmly. "You have loved ones too Mizutsuki, it's the Genei Ryodan whom you love. Though you never had to protect them because they never needed protection, isn't that so?"

"Perhaps, I don't know."

Hannah patted her sister on the back rather tentatively. "You are one stubborn sister." She sighed.

Mizutsuki didn't swat her hand off.

"Why do you hate Mr. Hill so much then?" Hannah asked. "He seems like a good person."

"Don't even ask about that." Mizutsuki said darkly. "People don't need reasons to love and they don't need reasons to hate either. I just do. What, are you interested in him?" She bursted out laughing. "Sorry, but I won't let you marry him; you'll become a widow soon because I'll kill him. I'll ask if he has a brother called Veniceton though."

Hannah blushed furiously.

"Mother!" A voice suddenly cried.

Hannah whirled around. Kagami ran into her arms.

"KAGAMI!" Hannah screamed and hugged him tight. "OH MY GOD WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS WORRIED SICK! ARE YOU HURT?"

Kagami shook his head. "No, I'm fine mother."

Hannah patted his head. "Oh my god!" She wailed. "Don't ever scare me like that again, tell me; how did you escape?"

Kagami remembered the lines Pariston's told him to speak. _Hannah would probably think that you were kidnapped by townspeople and she'd ask Mizutsuki for help. When you find your mom she'll be with Mizutsuki. When your mom asks you how you escaped, you will answer that you were saved by me. When Mizutsuki hears my name she will react._ (Pariston had winked at this point.) _Tell her that I'm waiting for her. She'll throw a hissy fit – you can ignore that; after that she'll storm off. Your job will be finished there and I'll do the rest._

"Mr. Hill helped me." Kagami said. His eyes darted to Mizutsuki.

Mizutsuki, who had been watching the heart-warming reunion, looked like she was struck by lightning. Her expression was shocked. "Pariston?" She said.

Kagami nodded slowly.

"That _Blondie_..." Mizutsuki scowled and pounded the brick wall with her fist, creating a dent.

"Mr. Hill says that he wants to meet you." Kagami continued.

Hannah glanced at Mizutsuki worriedly; she knew how much Mizutsuki hates Pariston. (It wasn't hard to tell) She pulled her son closer to her; just in case Mizutsuki suddenly decides to go crazy and destroy half the town. She knew that Mizutsuki could do it if she wanted to.

Mizutsuki stared at him in disbelief. "That fucking Blondie?" She deadpanned. "He wants to meet me? Pfft!" She rolled her eyes. "Does he want to break our deal already? Let me guess, he's gonna have a fucking romantic dinner with me again and poison me like we did three years ago? _Ha_!"

Kagami was amazed how Pariston was accurate on guessing Mizutsuki's reaction.

"I wonder what we're going to eat this time." She continued sarcastically. "Perhaps we can go to a family restaurant? So he can't poison me like he did last time without poisoning _others_!"

Hannah and Kagami had no idea what she was talking about.

"Does he want to have a normal dinner together, or a romantic one?" She deadpanned with a glance at Kagami.

"Umm... _normal_...?" He squeaked. Pariston didn't say anything about this part so he answered it himself. Pariston and Mizutsuki plus romantic dinner sounded like a bad idea.

"Normal huh…" Mizutsuki muttered to herself before she walked off. "Don't ever appear in front of me again sister." She called over her shoulder. "I'll kill you, I mean it this time!"

* * *

The mother and son watched as the mass murderer walked away. A small wary smile floated up to Hannah's lips. Kagami glanced at her. "What are you smiling at mother?" He asked.

"Nah…" Hannah laughed dryly. "It's just that I realized; Mizutsuki isn't that bad after all."

"I don't understand mother." Kagami said. "She belongs in an A-ranked criminal organization, how can she not be bad?"

Hannah ruffled his head. "I didn't say that she _wasn't_ bad did I? I said that she wasn't _that_ bad."

"How?" Kagami asked.

Hannah sighed. "Kagami, you're a smart kid, I know it and you know it. I trust you that you'll understand what I'm trying to say alright?"

"Alright."

Hannah took a deep breath. "True, Mizutsuki killed a lot of people in her past, she killed them without a reason and that's bad enough. However, she respects them as she kills them. Respect is a valuable quality you find in humans."

"I don't think that she respected us, mother."

"True, true." Hannah sighed. "She only respects the strong opponents she fights. But just earlier, she told me of a child no older than you who managed to cut off her arm. Her tone and her expression when she spoke of the child were respectful. What the child did is a very noble act; and her not belittling the child's actions makes her noble as well."

Kagami was a little confused, because he had thought that Mizutsuki was just a devil born from hell without any conscience. He didn't really understand what his mother was telling him either because it contradicted his own beliefs. But he knew that to make his mother have such a gentle expression, there must be a very good reason behind it.

"She's not good, she's bad, but she's not _that_ bad." Hannah repeated. "I know that she's full of pride and never takes others weaker than her seriously, but she still agreed on helping me look for you. I can sort of understand why she's like this; part of it is because she stays with the Genei Ryodan. She was abandoned the minute she was born and thrown to Ryūseigai. She went through a lot of bloody battles with her comrades; those deepened their bonds. The bonds of Meteor City and the Genei Ryodan are so deep that they all only have each other in their own worlds. They cannot accept others who do not belong in the group."

Kagami bit his lips, seeing his mother's gentle expression, he had begun to wonder if what he did on impulse was wrong or not.

* * *

Mizutsuki glared at Pariston from across the table, her killing aura came out in wisps and it scared the waitress. That resulted in their food coming late.

"Mizutsuki, don't make such a face," Pariston smiled and ate his food gracefully. (Seriously, how do you look graceful when you're eating McDonalds?). "You'll get wrinkles."

"I don't care." Mizutsuki deadpanned. "Why did you break our deal?"

"I realized that it's hard for me to keep the deal, so let's just pretend that the deal never happened. Do you want a French fry?" He held out a French fry to her.

She swatted his hand away. How should she put this; everything of him makes her sick. His soft blond hair that's bound to make a wig maker delighted, his handsome features that she wanted to make a cat scratch scars all over, those sparkles she wanted to stab him with and his always cheerful tone while speaking… Everything of him just nauseates her. "I'm not eating anything you give me." She deadpanned. "Who knows if you've poisoned it or not…"

"I won't!" Pariston protested. "Mizutsuki you're being so mean."

A vein bulged on her cheek. "Can I just stab you?" She deadpanned and reached for one of the sparkles. To her surprise she actually pulled it off his head. "_What the hell?_" She screamed, staring at the sparkle in her hand in disbelief.

A stream of blood trickled down Pariston's cheek but he still managed to maintain a smile. "Shh~ People are watching us you know." He reached for a napkin and wiped the blood off his face.

"Ah…I…Um…" Mizutsuki had no idea what to say. She could only stare at the fallen sparkle in shock.

"Are you alright Mizu?" Pariston asked worriedly.

"I'm… alright… I guess…" She answered. "Are you alright?"

Pariston simply laughed. "Oh I'm fine, though I'm happy that you're worried for me." He flashed a radiant smile.

Mizutsuki felt a blush forming. "D-Don't act so innocent in front of me!" Mizutsuki wailed. She wanna cry, things were falling in his pace now and that's a bad thing. It'll make the situation more complicated than it was already.

"Are you having a fever Mizutsuki? Your whole face is red."

"No."

"Okay…" Pariston nodded slowly. "I see that you're still Tsundere eh?" He smiled yet again.

She grabbed his tie and glared into his face. "You say that again and you'll find yourself without your manhood tomorrow morning."

Pariston's face didn't twitch the slightest bit, unlike the men of the Genei Ryodan. (Phinks stayed away from her for a week, Feitan challenged her in a battle, Nobunaga hugged his sword close while he was asleep, Shalnark made her a sandwich and so on.). "Ahaha, don't get so serious Mizu, you know that I was only joking." His eyes were twinkling in amusement however and that gave him away.

"You really wanna die don't you…?" Mizutsuki mused. "You know that I'd have no problem blowing up this whole goddamned restaurant right?"

"Of course but I suggest that you don't."

"Why the hell do I have to listen to you?"

"Because I'm older."

The fact he said this without any hesitation surprised her. She slowly let go of his tie and sat back down in her seat. Then she shot glares at the customers watching them.

"I didn't expect that you'd actually let go of me."

"Don't get mistaken, I get sick after staring in your face so long."

Pariston laced his fingers and leaned forward in his seat. "You're very easy to read, Mizutsuki, and that's what I like about you. Hot blooded yet cool minded at the same time. You have your own pace of doing things."

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not."

"Take it as a compliment. Why do you hate me so much?"

Mizutsuki crossed her arms and glanced at the fallen sparkle on the table. "The list will go on forever."

"I'll listen." He shrugged.

Mizutsuki shook her head. "It'll be quicker if you just asked what I _don't_ hate about you."

"Then what do you not hate about me?"

"Nothing, I hate everything of you. Like seriously, I checked the Hunter site just now and you got a fucking fan club?"

Pariston looked offended but she could tell that he was just acting.

"You're making me sad." Pariston said. "I like you a lot; you have the complete opposite personality of me. Plus you want to kill me, which is a bonus. It's not often that you can find a rival that you actually like. The Twelve Zodiacs are boring, maybe Ging-san is a little more amusing but he's always hiding."

"I can't believe that I actually just heard _rival_ and _like_,_boring_ and _amusing_ in the same sentence." Mizutsuki deadpanned and drank her lemon tea. After pausing for a moment she handed her drink to Pariston with a poker face.

"Hmm?"

"Drink it."

"Wha…?"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

Slowly Pariston took the cup over and drank the tea. Within a second he choked and spewed it out. Mizutsuki laughed; she had altered the sweetness before she handed it to him. For once she finally saw his face without that irritatingly charming smile.

"Did you set me up?" He was still coughing. "I thought that you were going to tell me that the drink was expired."

"Pffft, you better be grateful I didn't turn it to actual acid."

"That much I saw, I know that if you wanted to kill me, you'd have chosen a place with lesser people. Plus if you did turn it to acid, it'll melt through the cup."

Mizutsuki shrugged. "Well now that I pranked you, I'm in a slightly better mood. Just _slightly_ though. If you have anything else to say, hurry up and spit it out before my mood turns bad again. Just looking at your face gives me goosebumps." She shuddered.

Pariston drank water. "Most people call me handsome though." He laughed dryly. "I don't have much to say actually, but I'm wondering if you're still free tonight?"

"Do you have any idea how weird that sounded?" Mizutsuki muttered. "If it's another date then no thanks, I'm leaving." She started to get out of her seat.

"Oh no-no-no, don't get me wrong." Pariston said. "I've decided that I want to fight you. Can you meet me at the same spot where we met last night? If you don't have a decent battle with me you won't be happy right?"

"I'm not happy already."

"So is that a yes or no?"

"Sure, it's a yes." She shrugged and tucked the sparkle into her pocket. "I will not die before I stab you with this sparkle."

Pariston smiled. "I'll look forward seeing you there."

In reality, he never planned to go there. The one that was going to meet her was a different person. Mizutsuki walked out of the fast food restaurant and he sat there alone. _I trust you to keep your word Mizutsuki. _He thought. _You will not die before you kill me, no matter what happens…_

* * *

Chrollo walked back into the hideout and looked around. "Why isn't Mizutsuki back yet?" He asked blankly. "I didn't think that she'd take this much time."

Machi raised her hand. "Danchou, it's a long story but I must say what I think."

"What do you think Machi?"

"If Mizu stays out any longer she'll die."

* * *

**To be honest I'm actually a shipper of Pariston x Mizu. **** Wouldn't they be an amusing couple? J****ust think of the chaos they (Mizutsuki) will cause! But to keep the story going she's gonna hate Pariston until the very end. *wipes tear***

**I wanna do a Q&A on the last chapter/author note since the story is almost ending. Just review or pm me questions, you can ask the _characters_ questions too if you want. If you don't ask questions I'll just go to Tumbler and copy-paste a questionnaire. Now wouldn't that be boring? It's simple so pleeeeeeaaasssee? *puppy-dog eyes***

**REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPTER! (I actually like this chapter lol)**


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